New Friendships and Old Rivalries

"He helped me with the essay and so I could help you. And he's fine really. Much nicer than the other boys," she insisted.

"Okay, if you say so," Parvati repeated.

"Hey Harry," Lavender said out loud. "Want to walk with us to Herbology?"

Harry looked up; surprise written clearly on his face. "Me?"

Lavender smiled. "Yes you. Are there any other Harrys?"

"I don't think so," he said with a small smile. "Sure, thank you."

"Harry, meet Parvati. She's my best friend."

Parvati rolled her eyes a little. "I was your only friend," she teased back.

"Well now I have another and so do you and you're the best one so far," Lavender giggled. "Sorry Harry."

Harry grinned shyly. "No problems. I'm happy to have a friend. And hopefully another."

Parvati giggled. "I guess I can have another friend."

The three of them walked out of the castle and onto the grounds. Lavender and Parvati chatted about something they read out of a magazine together and Harry showed polite interest but did not interject, content to be walking with them. They reached the greenhouses and stood off to one side waiting for the ones within to leave.

"Hey Potter!"

Harry turned and sputtered as a mass of green leaves and wet soil hit him in the face. He spat and rubbed his mouth, trying to clear away the taste of earth and damp vegetation while people laughed at him.

Draco Malfoy looked smugly proud of himself, wiping his hands clean on his outer-robes. "Since you like eating plants so much, thought I'd help." Two hulking boys beside him laughed along with him, as well as a hard-faced girl with dark hair.

Harry glared back at Draco, face red. It was not just the Slytherins laughing at him. He could tell others had enjoyed the action too. "Thanks Malfoy," Harry said at last. "Didn't taste very good though so no need to offer again in the future."

Snickers and more laughter greeted the retort and Draco stopped laughing, his eyes narrowing as the attention shifted. "I didn't know starving dogs could be so choosy," he sneered and laughed uproariously as a boy in green barked loudly.

Harry ground his teeth. "You're looking a little starved yourself. Maybe you'd enjoy a salad. Get some color."

Malfoy's pale thin features reddened as others laughed at the reply, with Lavender laughing hardest of all. He opened his mouth but Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology professor, walked out of the greenhouse, her eyes focusing on the scene before her. "What happened here?" she asked, seeing the mass of leaves and soil on the ground, at Harry's stained face.

"Someone got a little hungry," Draco said snidely. "Wanted to know how the weeds taste."

"Not too good. Must be how they were prepared," Harry said back.

"Off you go," Sprout said firmly, cutting Draco off. "Don't you lot have another class to get to?" She waited for the Slytherins and Ravenclaw students to leave. "Is everything okay, Mister Potter?" she asked kindly.

He finished wiping his face clean. "Yes Ma'am," he said.

"If you say so." She flicked her wand and the pile of dirt and leaves and things on the ground were sent into a large compost pile beside the greenhouse. "Alright then, let's get class underway, shall we?"

.....

"Why didn't you say anything to the Professor?" Parvati asked later as they left the greenhouse.

Harry shrugged. "Draco's been like that to me since we met. I have a feeling no matter what I do, it won't get better. Worse, more likely."

"He's a jerk," Lavender sniffed.

"So are some of the others," Parvati said, giving some others a dark look.

He shrugged again. "Whatever." After a moment he spoke softly, "Thanks for standing up for me though, laughing for me."

"What are friends for?" Lavender asked airily.

"Yeah," Parvati agreed.