Hit the Floor

When Harry was one, a Dark Lord killed his parents as he watched from his mother's arms.

When Harry was six, an evil Uncle locked him up for a week with only water to sustain him.

When Harry was eleven, a Dark Lord tried to kill him.

When Harry was fourteen, a Dark Lord killed one of his classmates.

When Harry was fifteen, an evil woman killed the only father he'd ever known.

When Harry was sixteen, a Dark Lord killed one of his friends.

Harry returned for his second year at Hogwarts happy to see his friends.

Harry returned for his third year at Hogwarts relieved to be anywhere but home.

Harry returned for his fourth year at Hogwarts sad that he wasn't with his godfather.

Harry returned for his fifth year at Hogwarts suspected of being evil.

Harry returned for his sixth year at Hogwarts angry.

Now, Harry was about to turn seventeen. He'd been thinking about what would happen when he was seventeen. He'd thought about how he would return for his seventh year at Hogwarts.

Harry had come to two conclusions.

When he was seventeen, Harry Potter would kill a Dark Lord.

He would return for his seventh year at Hogwarts prepared.

--

Harry,

I hope you have found the reading material you asked for helpful. I have brought up your query with the members of the Order, and we have reached a decision. If you would come by my office after the Welcoming Feast, we can discuss the matter further.

Albus Dumbledore

--

Harry read the letter again as he sat alone in the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express, all of his friends elsewhere. Ron and Hermione were both in the prefect's compartment at the front, and frankly, he didn't care. He hadn't said much when they'd approached him with hugs and stories out on the platform, and they apparently hadn't noticed. Neville had been spending more time with the Gryffindor sixth years since he'd begun dating Ginny. Dean had transferred to Beauxbatons for his seventh year. Seamus...well, Seamus.

At the end of last year, Voldemort had made his usual end-of-term, Kill-Harry-Potter run. Just like the past five years, Harry had rushed off without thinking, ready for a fight. Fueled with a burning anger that had simmered slowly all throughout his sixth year, he'd decided that he could take care of the problem himself. That if no one knew he was going, no one could get hurt. Like Sirius had.

Oh how wrong he had been.

Voldemort had sent Harry another vision. Since he'd stopped Occlumency with Snape the year before, Harry had been defenseless against them. Voldemort had told Harry to meet him in the Forbidden Forest, so they could settle their feud once and for all. If Harry complied, Voldemort would leave the school, and everyone within its walls, alone. And Harry had gone. Just as Voldemort knew he would. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had once again followed him, of course. This time, Seamus had joined them.

Of course, it had been a trap. They'd been ambushed by Death Eaters as soon as they'd stepped foot into the clearing. Bright flashes of light flew back and forth between the Death Eaters and the teens. Curses Harry had never heard before were used against them, and it was mostly luck that prevented them from being hit. Harry had spent so much time trying to protect his friends that he hadn't even noticed when Voldemort appeared behind them. By the time Harry had realized he was there, Seamus was dead.

Over the summer, Harry decided this year would be different. He could no longer handle his friends following him blindly into danger. He was tired of other people paying the price for his stupidity. Harry had spent a lot of time picking apart his own faults and weaknesses. He'd also been thinking about what the Sorting Hat had said to him his first year. Instead of being scared and offended, he tried to figure out exactly why it had thought he would do well in Slytherin. He'd finally come to the conclusion that it had nothing to do with being evil. It was about being prepared. Slytherins were cunning and ambitious. They knew how to hide their emotions when necessary, and were very keen on self-preservation.

These were all areas in which Harry was sorely lacking.

--

Harry was jerked out of his thoughts when the compartment door slid open. Draco Malfoy stared at him with a cool expression.

"Sorry, thought this compartment was empty," he said, voice uncharacteristically neutral.

Draco Malfoy had become an enigma to Harry Potter. He had been ever since his father was carted off to Azkaban. He was colder, calmer, and more calculating than before. Draco hadn't tried to get Harry and his friends in trouble anymore, and didn't respond as much to the taunts they threw his way. Last year, Harry had assumed it was just another plot to drive him crazy.

Looking at Draco now though, Harry realized the Slytherin Prince had just grown up. Perhaps Harry could see it now because he had finally done the same.

"It basically is," Harry responded, voice equally neutral. "Have a seat if you want."

Draco stood in the doorway for a few moments, staring at Harry, who turned his gaze to the window, so as not to seem challenging. Draco finally closed the door and sat on the bench across from Harry.

"I thought prefects were patrolling the train," Harry said quietly, glancing at Draco.

"We are, but that involves interacting with Hufflepuffs."

Harry was almost offended before noticing the slight twitch of Draco's mouth. He smiled.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?"

"Exactly my point."

They spent a long time in an almost comfortable silence.

--

"He's got to be in here Ron, it's the last compartment on the train."

Draco looked up at the door and then over to Harry.

"I do believe that's my cue to leave," he said, making to get up.

"You don't have to," Harry said, looking at the door as well. "If you don't want to, that is." It didn't seem important that the Slytherin leave to appease his friends. Harry thought he had just as much a right to sit there as anyone, really.

Draco opened his mouth to say something, at the exact moment the compartment door burst open. Ron and Hermione pushed in, looking a bit flustered.

"Harry we've been looking all over for y..." Hermione's voice dropped off as she spotted the blonde Slytherin.

"Harry, what's the ferret doing here?" Ron asked, his hand going for his wand.

Harry sighed heavily. This was one of the problems he'd been dreading this year. Just as Draco had grown up before him, so had he before his friends. Ron was still the hot-tempered and judgmental boy he'd met on the train all those years ago. Hermione was just standing there staring at Harry reproachfully, as if he'd betrayed her in some way.

"He's sitting, Ron. I thought that was rather obvious," Harry said.

"Well he can go sit somewhere else. We don't need his kind here," Ron said, face reddening.

Draco stood. "Look Potter, I'll just go."

Harry stood as well and put out an arm to stop Draco from walking out the door.

"No. There's no reason for you to go, you were here before them. If they want to sit here, they'll just have to deal with that. We're seventeen for fuck's sake, we can share a bloody compartment on a train for a few hours."

Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione, silently asking them to just be the bigger person and suck up all that useless animosity. Animosity that would be better off directed towards the real villains of the world and not some petty rivalry. Ron obviously did not agree with Harry's line of thinking.

"What? You expect us to share a compartment with Malfoy? Are you off your rocker? Harry, think of all the things he's done to us! He deserves to be cursed into next year and if you are too blinded to see that, well I'll just take care of it for us," he shouted.

"As much as I was enjoying your company, Potter, I'm not going to stay here and be threatened. See you at school," Draco said. He raised an eyebrow to Harry before pushing past Ron and out the door.

"About time that git left. Harry, what were you thinking? You know you can't trust him, he's a Slytherin," Ron seethed.

Harry buried his head in his hands and groaned.

"Ron's right, Harry," Hermione said, although much more calmly than the redhead. "You know you can't trust Malfoy, don't you remember last year?"

"You mean last year when he left us alone? Last year when he didn't even fight back? Last year when he acted like an adult while the rest of us were being petty little children? That last year, Hermione?" Harry asked quietly. He was not going to get into a screaming match with his friends.

"Oh come off it Harry, you know that was just a ploy to make us paranoid. You even said so yourself last year!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry looked at his two friends who still hadn't sat down. Sure, they looked more grown up than they had last year. Each of them was taller and had lost that last lingering bit of baby fat. They certainly weren't acting like they had. Harry supposed he couldn't really be angry with them; after all, they hadn't had a reason to stop being children. They still had their families and their homes. They'd lost a friend, but nothing truly dramatic had happened. Nothing had happened to change their very lives. Unlike him, and Malfoy, he supposed.

Harry hoped his request to the Order would be granted. It would make things so much easier this year, easier for everyone involved. He wouldn't need to worry about offending his friends or fighting with enemies. Ron and Hermione wouldn't have to deal with the changes in him. He wouldn't have to deal with the constant scrutiny of his house.

"Let's just get changed. You can tell me about your summer," he said to them, with what he hoped was a happy grin on his face.

Ron immediately launched into a tale about the twins, Ginny, and a garden gnome, while Hermione just stared at him critically. He should have known it wouldn't be so easy to distract her. He only hoped she would wait until after the Order meeting tonight to corner him. Harry reached for his trunk and tried to pay attention to Ron's wild story.

--

Harry sat down quietly at the head of the Gryffindor table as they entered the Great Hall. Conversation flowed around him as it always did. His housemates shared stories about their summers, their new relationships, and new gossip on other students. He couldn't believe how unbelievably insignificant the talk was. There were such huge things going on at the moment, and they were going on about clothing trends and Chocolate Frog cards. But he supposed he shouldn't begrudge him their last year of childhood. The war would be unavoidable, and they would all be facing it after graduation soon enough.

As he looked around the Great Hall at the other tables that seemed so much longer this year, he thought about all the lives that were going to be lost in the coming war. Harry was no longer naïve enough to believe he could save everyone, even though he was determined not to cause anyone else's death. He also was not naïve enough to believe that all of the students here would be fighting on his side. He knew that one day he would face off with them on the battlefield, and he knew that they would not all be Slytherins. It was just the way of the world.

Harry barely paid attention to the first years being sord, clapping mindlessly whenever the Ron and Hermione did. His focus was on the meeting that would be taking place in just over an hour. He was worried about the Order's decision, and wasn't quite sure what he was going to do should they deny his request. It was important, and somehow he needed to make them see that. He needed to show them that he was no longer the child he'd been just a few short months ago.

He picked at the food on his plate, only half listening to Ron and Hermione fighting about the upcoming N.E.W.T.S. He glanced to his right, towards the Slytherin table. Malfoy was at the head, the same position as Harry. Not surprising really, they were both the unofficial leaders of their houses. It had been nice on the train, sitting with Draco. It had been nice sitting with someone who didn't require him to explain his every move, his every thought.

"Harry, tell Hermione that she should leave me alone about studying! It's the beginning of term for crying out loud," Ron said through a mouthful of food.

"Harry, please tell Ron that it is horribly rude to talk with his mouth full," Hermione countered.

Harry sighed and waited for the Feast to end.

--