Anyone But Me

Chapter 3

Getting Back to Normal

Quidditch try-outs were the next bit of normality in Harry's life. Or he thought they would be. After listening to Neville tell story after story about something brave or fabulous or noteworthy that he had done over the holidays, Harry was thinking about transferring houses. Apparently, Neville basically had his own column in the Prophet and told Harry about it a lot.

So Harry was really looking forward to playing a bit of Quidditch, the thing Harry enjoyed most in the world. Plus, he was beyond excited to play again after the life-long ban Umbridge had given him. At least, he was looking forward to it until, when the would-be chasers mounted and kicked off, Katie suggested that Harry join them and judge them from the air in order to see how well he worked with them.

"You'll be able to tell if they'll be compatible with me too, won't you?" Katie asked. Harry looked at her.

"You too?" he asked.

"They're trying out to be the third chaser with you and me," Katie said, distracted as she watched the student mount their brooms and kick off.

"What? I play what?" Harry asked. Katie dragged her eyes away from the sky and looked at Harry.

"Chaser," Katie said, looking slightly worried.

"Oh, er," Harry muttered, holding his Firebolt in his left hand. "Do you think I could try out for seeker?"

Katie stared at Harry. "Ginny's the seeker."

"Could I try for reserve?"

Katie blinked. "Why?"

"I'm just not a very good chaser," Harry said, and it was true. He knew how to play all the positions--he had been on the team for five years--but seeker was the one he played best.

"You played for the English Junior National Team as chaser when you were fourteen," Katie said. What? Really? That was actually quite impressive. Still, Harry knew it wasn't the position for him.

"I'm not a chaser."

"But your dad was a chaser," Katie said.

"Right," Harry replied, not quite seeing the relevance, "but I'm not. Not really."

"I don't understand--what?" Katie looked confused.

He briefly considered explaining htat he was from another world and was trying to figure out his place in this one, which included playing seeker, but decided against it and said, "I just want to try for seeker."

"Harry," Katie said, "I really need you to be a chaser. Otherwise, we'd need two chasers."

"Ginny's a great chaser." It was true, she'd played brilliantly the year before as both chaser and seeker.

"But Ginny's the seeker." This was obviously not going to work.

"I'll quit and try out again, if that'll make it easier," Harry said.

"No, no, don't quit. But if you try out and Ginny's a better seeker than you, will you play chaser again?" Katie asked, obviously trying for a compromise.

"Yes," Harry said. Ginny walked up then in all of her Gryffindor Quidditch gear, jaw set.

"How are they looking?" Ginny asked.

"They're looking fine," Katie said, obviously disturbed, "but Harry now wants to play seeker."

"But I'm seeker," Ginny said.

"I know," Harry said, "but I'm better at seeking than chasing."

Ginny smiled and gave him a hug, which was sort of awkward as she was holding her broom and it hit him twice. "Finally," Ginny said.

"Finally?" Katie asked.

"I've been trying to get Harry to switch places with me for years. He's built for seeking, even if it isn't as flashy as chasing," Ginny said, one arm still around Harry's middle, which made him uncomfortable though Ginny didn't seem to notice. Katie was frowning at the pair of them. Ginny extracted herself from Harry in order to mount her broom and kick off.

"Don't worry about it, Katie," Ginny said. "It'll be fine. Just find a chaser, two beaters, and a keeper like you planned. Harry and I'll work out the rest of it later."

"All right," Katie muttered, "but I don't understand why you two can't play the positions you've played for years."

Harry mounted and kicked off as well, flying with the chasers, watching and marking their strengths and weaknesses. Ginny, meanwhile, threw a Quaffle at him that he just barely caught. She moved so that they were flying side by side, reached out and took the Quaffle from him.

"You better keep up your reflexes, Harry," Ginny said, pulling into a spiral move in the air. "Or you'll never be able to save the world."

"I'm not going to save the world," Harry said, involuntarily remembering the prophecy he was trying to forget. "That's what we have Neville for."

"Neville?" Ginny repeated, laughing. "He's not made to save us, Harry, no matter what scar he has on his forehead."

"I hope you two are watching the tryouts!" Katie chimed up from the ground. Harry smiled. He didn't think he'd ever heard Katie Bell raise her voice before. Maybe all those years playing for Wood had rubbed off on her a bit.

------

"Are you quite done being an idiot, Harry Potter?" asked Parvati Patil, marching straight at Harry the moment he arrived back in the common room after tryouts.

Harry was lost. "What?"

"Don't you 'What?' me, Harry," Parvati said, now standing in front of him and still being quite loud. "You didn't write me at all. You didn't even send a prank gift to me for my birthday."

Then it clicked. Parvati was his on-again off-again girlfriend. Huh. That was odd.

"We're broken up," Harry said, taking quite a risk. If she weren't his girlfriend and if they weren't officially broken up, he imagined things would be difficult.

"We're always broken up over the holidays," Parvati said, acknowledging that she was the girlfriend. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means I don't have to stay in contact with you," Harry said, fairly sure that this was true. Parvati's eyes narrowed.

"You're telling me you really want to break up with me? Forever?" Parvati asked.

Harry didn't know if he wanted to break up with her forever, but he certainly didn't want to date her. He had hated the Yule Ball and then he'd only had to spend a few hours on a single date with her. And dating Cho Chang hadn't been a blast either.

"Right," Parvati said sarcastically, taking his silence to mean that he did want to break up. She walked forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly. It was a possessive kiss and when Parvati backed away from him, she was smirking. "Let's just see how long you last without me."

Harry vaguely heard a noise behind him, where he knew Ginny was standing, and then the slamming of the Fat Lady's portrait. Without knowing quite why, Harry turned and followed her.

-----

He found Ginny flying circles around the Quidditch field, cutting dangerously close to the posts. Watching her fly was amazing. Then she spotted him watching her and a quit being amazing because she was obviously quite mad at him and very unwilling to have him see her fly.

"What are you doing standing around here?" Ginny asked, landing and stepping off her broom. "Don't you have to go make up with your girlfriend about now? It's been a full day since you arrived back at school."

"Where I come from, she's not my girlfriend," Harry said, deciding to check and see if Ginny was the one he trusted most with his secret.

"Where you come from? What sort of stupid joke is that?" Ginny asked. It didn't seem she was. He wondered briefly who he thought she might tell. Maybe her mum?

"A poor one, I suppose," Harry said. He saw a brief smile on her face before she was scowling again.

"Don't do this," Ginny said, throwing her broom into the shed and turning to walk away.

"Do what?" Harry asked, jogging after her.

"This!" Ginny said, turning to walk backward as she yelled and threw her hands out. "Any of this."

"I still don't understand."

"You wouldn't," she said spitefully, turning around to keep marching.

Harry stared after her, slowing to a stop. Here he was in a world with Parvati as his angry ex-girlfriend and a position as a chaser on the Gryffindor team, and now he was chasing after Ginny Weasley because she yelled at him when all along he knew this wasn't real, this world could change the moment he found his secret keeper. "This is so stupid."

Ginny wheeled around. "This is so stupid? This? What about you?"

"What about me?" Harry asked, completely surprised by her reaction.

"Why do you do this to yourself? To me? I'm your best friend, Harry, and I have been since you sat me down next to you my first day here. I'm the girl you come to when every other girl breaks your heart. I'm the one you tell when you feel like there's something missing in your life, like you ought to be making a bigger difference in the world. I'm the one you tell when you have fights with Matt or Christine. And you look at me like a joke, and tell me that when Alana grows up, you want her to be just like me. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

"No, actually. I have absolutely no idea," Harry said defiantly. She was yelling at him for no reason.

"You think you're so clever," Ginny said. "When you kissed me last year and said you'd break up with her for good, I believed you. I'm such an idiot."

What? He had kissed Ginny? Told her he would break up with Parvati for her?

"Parvati and I are broken up," Harry said, for lack of anything better to say.

"How long will that last, Harry?" Ginny asked over her shoulder. "A minute? An hour more maybe?"

"I don't want to date her." Not that he wanted to date Ginny either. She was-- was-- Ginny.

"I saw your face after she kissed you."

"She kisses well," Harry said. Ginny couldn't blame him for enjoying that. On second thought, seeing her angry face, maybe she could. But why was he even trying to stay in her good graces? He didn't want to date her. He didn't want to date anyone. Dating Cho had been a mistake and he honestly didn't think he'd be comfortable dating again for a while.

Ginny huffed and walked away. Harry let her go.

-----

Entering his dorm room later that night, Harry felt very much like he did when his Aunt Marge visited: irritable, short-tempered, and ready to blow something up. That's why it was so bloody wonderful to have Neville greet him the moment he opened the door.

"She's bloody hot, mate. I don't know why you enjoy screaming at her so much. I'd have shagged her long ago, but I'm very good with women. I'll give you some advice," Neville said, throwing open his curtains. Harry's eyes narrowed. If it had been anyone else, if he hadn't seen Neville's grandmother in action, if Harry hadn't been able to recite page twenty of his Quidditch Through the Ages in his head, he would have cursed Neville through a wall.

Harry walked past him. He changed quickly.

"I'd almost imagine you were gay if it weren't for the stories," Neville said. "Though I suppose those could have been--"

"Oh shut it, Neville," Seamus said, coming out of the bathroom. "Everyone knows you're just acting like a prat because Harry blew you off at the train station and the reporters couldn't shut up about it and you're jealous."

"Why would I ever be jealous of him? They only reason they even care about Harry is because he's my friend," Neville said. "I'm the one on page one. Where's Harry? Page four?"

"Right, when was the last time you helped Aurors--"

"Don't be thick, Neville," Harry said, interrupting Seamus without really listening to him. "The reporters don't case about me at all, and I don't want them to. So enjoy your front page news."

"What, did someone slip you a Lying Drought?" Neville asked snidely. Why was everyone telling him what good friends he and Neville were supposed to be? Harry didn't know that he could ever be a friend to this conceited version of his good mate. Harry didn't even want to check to see if Neville remembered the other world. If Neville remembered the way he'd grown up, he would never have acted this way, no matter how this world treated him. But just to be safe:

"Hey, Neville, do you remember an alternate universe in which you weren't such a prat?" Harry asked. Neville glared at him.

"You need to work on your insults, Harry. That was a little contrived," Neville said. Harry got into bed, closed his curtains, and tried to fall asleep only to hear a loud tearing sound followed by Seamus's taunting tone.

"Hey, Neville, breathe," Seamus said. "That's called being ignored."

-----

Breakfast in the morning was only strange because while Harry instinctively sat next to Ron, the redhead did not seemed pleased by the arrangement. At least Andy sat next to Harry and they managed to talk as they had all summer until the schedules showed up. Harry looked at his in disbelief.

"I'm not in Defense," Harry said, though it was more a question than a statement.

"Course not," Andy said, looking his own schedule up and down.

"What do you mean? Why am I not in Defense but I'm still in Divination? What sort of O.W.L.s did I receive?" Harry asked, realizing for probably the first time that he didn't know the answer to that. Shouldn't he have received a letter about it?

"Shut it, you idiot," Andy said, turning to Harry. "Don't know why you're surprised. After your screaming fit last year, you knew you wouldn't have to take Defense ever again."

"Why wouldn't I want to take Defense?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you hate the professor," Andy said sarcastically. Then he looked around. "Say, why'd Ginny sitting all the way down there?"

Andy stood and walked down to talk to her, but Harry was busy looking at the Head Table, trying to spot the Defense professor that he hated. The only thing he knew was that the professor had to have been there for over a year if--Harry caught sight of him. It was a miracle and a great confusion. It was Remus Lupin, looking tired and drawn.

"Professor Lupin?" Harry whispered, just loud enough for Ron to hear.

"What?" Ron asked. "Still upset that your campaign to have him fired failed?"

"Fired? I'd never want him fired."

"That's right, dead would be preferable, wouldn't it?" Ron gave Harry a disgusted look before standing and walking away. Harry didn't understand. Why would Ron think Harry hated Remus? And if this world's Harry truly did hate Remus, why would that be? Harry looked up at the tired Remus Lupin and wondered if he wasn't the one Harry trusted the most. He was loyal to Harry, wasn't he? And while he might tell Dumbledore or the Order, he wouldn't if Harry asked him not to. Yes, Harry needed to have a serious talk with Remus Lupin. But first he needed to send an owl to Christine and attend class.

"Morning, Harry," Neville said, sitting down.

"Morning," Harry said absentmindedly as he stood and walked toward the owlery to send a message to Christine.

-----

After Divination with the still-batty Trelawney and the still-fuming-and-challenging Parvati, Harry made his way to Potions. Hermione sat in the back next to a Ravenclaw. Draco Malfoy sat in the front seat and Harry felt a surge of hatred as he looked at the pale boy and remembered the last time he's spoken to him in his natural world. He would have killed Malfoy if he could have. Harry took the closest open seat. It was next to Hannah Abbot, who looked at him and then quickly back to the front of the room.

Unconsciously, Harry was drawn to the members of the D.A. He had gotten to know them very well the previous year and they had proved themselves loyal. More than that, they trusted him.

Well, Hannah had thought Harry was the Heir of Slytherin, but she's apologized for that later. She'd cursed Malfoy on the train. That was enough for Harry.

"Today we will be studying the Strength Elixir, on page one-hundred and seventy of your texts," Professor Snape said. Harry didn't even realize he was glaring at Snape, hatred coursing through his veins, until the professor locked eyes with him and Harry felt himself accidentally using Legilimency.

Harry saw the professor's black eyes narrow in surprise and suspicion as he pushed Harry out of his mind and gave him a decidedly vengeful look. His eyes were black, cold, and empty.

"An essay on the properties of this potion's ingredients will be due on Tuesday. Four feet," Snape said, turning to the blackboard and beginning to write. At least, Harry knew, Snape would never be the one he trusted the most. Glaring at the back of his hate-filled, murdering, Death Eater head, Harry knew that Snape would likely tell both Dumbledore and Voldemort about the alternate world, just to save his own arse.

A quill dropped to Harry's left and he saw that it was Neville's, who sat in the middle with an empty seat next to him.

"Is our resident celebrity too good to take notes?" Snape asked. Harry wanted to break something over his head very badly. Even if he was insulting the stuffed up Neville, he was horrible.

Halfway through the class, Harry realized that it was odd for him to be in Potion's class. It meant he had received an O on his O.W.L. He definitely wanted those results now.

"Realizing you don't belong here, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked. Harry's eyes narrowed as he looked up and met his gaze.

Harry said nothing in response. Instead he did little more than glare at the man he hated in front of him. Oddly, the whole class watched the exchange with something akin to horror on their faces. Harry hardly cared.

-----

Later that night, heading back to the common room after another strange dinner with Andy, Ginny (who joined them though only talking to Andy), some other fifth years Harry didn't know, Seamus, and Dean, Harry was struck by a sudden thought.

"What happened to the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked.

"The what?" Andy asked.

"The Philosopher's Stone. Flamel's stone," Harry said. Andy looked at him like he was crazy. Harry looked at Ginny, who was with them, if still silent and she too shrugged at him, though it was a would-be-hostile-if-I-didn't-think-you-were-insane type of shrug.

"Who's Flamel?"

"In my first year, the third floor corridor was off grounds--"

"Why would we know about that, Harry?" Ginny asked. "It was before we even got here."

"But you should still know about it. Everyone knows about it."

"Not everyone," Andy said as Harry stopped outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. Andy and Ginny walked through.

Not everyone in this world knows about it, Harry thought. But everyone in his world knew. It was one of the Hogwarts legends, one of the things that every first year heard about, whispered in the back of History of Magic. It was part of the myth of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the Untouchable Gryffindor Trio. But if the stone hadn't been saved, why wasn't Quirell working here? And what happened to the stone?

-----

The next morning at breakfast, Harry sat next to Naomi, one of the few people who ever got up as early as Harry. Normally, he would have waited for Ron and Hermione before going to breakfast, but he had finally realized that in this world, hanging out with either of them was a bit too difficult: Hermione because he never saw her and Ron because he obviously disliked Harry. It was quite a bother.

Not that Naomi looked particularly happy to see him. She didn't look unhappy about it, just not as happy as, say, as some of his other friends might have been.

"Good morning, Harry," Naomi said. He nodded at her and said good morning as well before tucking into some oatmeal. It was a long time before they spoke again.

"I heard Stephen made the team," Naomi said. Harry nodded.

"He was a brilliant beater," Harry said.

"Which is a backhanded compliment to yourself, no doubt, since you taught him to fly," Naomi said, eating a strawberry.

"No," Harry said, irritated by her hostile tone. "I'd never flown with him before tryouts."

Naomi put another fruit in her mouth and chewed slowly, finally swallowing and asking, "And you're playing seeker now?"

"Yes," Harry said, scooping all his oatmeal to one side of his bowl.

"How did that happen?" Naomi asked, eying the bowl.

"Ginny and I agreed to switch." Harry scraped the last of his oatmeal and stuck the overflowing spoon in his mouth.

"Did Katie?" Naomi asked carefully, as if Harry would simply ignore his captain.

"Not at first." Harry took a sip of his water.

"You took advantage of Katie, then," Naomi said, tapping her fingernail on the table.

"Katie's too nice to take advantage of," Harry said, putting down his glass and addressing Naomi directly since she seemed to want to fight. "It would be like kicking a puppy."

Naomi's eyes narrowed. "Kicking a puppy?"

"Muggle expression," Harry replied, used to having to answer this sort of bewildered look of Ron's whenever Harry said an expression that Ron thought was particularly cruel or strange.

He only realized his mistake when Naomi said, "You aren't in Muggle Studies."

"Hermione told me it." That was, in general, one of the best excuses for knowledge.

"Hermione? Hermione Granger?" Naomi repeated.

"Yes," Harry said defensively. Naomi didn't respond quickly, but rather she stared thoughtfully at her fruit for a while and let silence encompass them both for a moment.

"You aren't friends with Hermione Granger," Naomi finally said.

"Well," Harry said, "I eavesdrop on her a lot."

Naomi's eyes narrowed. "Right."

Another pause in the conversation.

"Does Alana write you?" Naomi asked.

Harry was surprised by the turn in conversation. "No."

"She said she'd write you today or tomorrow," Naomi said. "Be sure to tell her about Stephen making the team."

"Why don't you tell her?" Harry asked, irritated.

Naomi looked at him and began to say something, but he never had the chance to hear the response because right then a group of his fellow sixth years piled around him. He wanted to leave, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. Naomi, he saw, left almost immediately. They hadn't even said goodbye, but when he caught her eye, they both nodded, acknowledging the fact that neither wanted to be at that table right then. And then she was gone.

"Were you just talking to Naomi Ryan?" Dean asked, sitting beside Harry, who shrugged.

"Better watch out for Duncan. You know he doesn't like other blokes talking to her," Seamus said. Who was Duncan?

"Are they dating?" Harry asked.

"No," Seamus said, "but you know how he is."

"And you know, Seamus, that he wouldn't mind Harry talking to her. He's been friends with her since birth practically," Dean said, tossing a roll at his friend. "Plus, Duncan and Harry know each other well enough."

"Which is unfair. Why does everyone like him?" Seamus asked, smiling to show that he was joking about being angry about it. Harry felt uncomfortable.

That night, of course, was the night Naomi Ryan was found Petrified on the second floor.

A/N: Feel free to go to my livejournal (www.livejournal.com/AnotherDreamer5) if you have any questions. Mind that I live in Hawaii and am thus possible twelve hours behind you. I'm going to post all the chapters that I have here as soon as possible. Promise.~ Miranda