Chapter 104

He looked over at the boy cowering under the glare of the three Chasers as they told him off for what he'd done. Harry pondered, what kind of punishment did he deserve? If he had anything to say about it, the other boy would be shunned before the day was out.

That was actually a very harsh punishment to deal with, being forsaken by all your friends, or previous friends. And for someone like MgLaggen, who was a blow hard that loved bragging to others, that might be the worst punishment. The best part was, Harry wouldn't have to actually lift a finger to do it. Other people would punish the boy for him.

Deciding to assess the damage he had taken, Harry ran a quick mental check of all his injuries. He had a minor concussion, nothing too serious. Some bruising around his back and chest. Those weren't bad either, and would be easy to deal with. The only serious injury he could see was his wrist. It was broken—a hairline fracture, from what he could tell. He'd had enough of those to know how they felt, and by running his magic along the damaged bone, could feel the cracked line that ran about an inch long near the center of his wrist. That one would take a bit of effort to fix, but a good night directing his magic to the wound would heal it easily enough.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Susan. She seemed to have gotten over her embarrassment around him, at least temporarily, and checked him for injuries like an over-worried mother.

"I'm fine," he assured the girl. "Or I will be after a good nights rest."

"Oi, Potter!" Harry and those gathered around him looked up to see Oliver and the rest of the Quidditch team heading towards him. A quick glance showed Cormac MgLaggen sulking as he made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower. "You're not dead, are you? Cuz we still need to see how well you do, and since Cormac isn't getting on the team, I need you to catch that Snitch."

Scowls made their way onto the faces of his friends, even sweet and innocent Susan Bones looked like she wanted to snap at the older boy. Fortunately, none of them would have to. Angelina did it for them by smacking Oliver on the back of the head.

"I mean, erm, why don't we get you to the hospital," Oliver amended as he rubbed his abused noggin.

"There's no need to send me to the hospital," Harry said as he gingerly climbed to his feet. He swayed a bit as he stood to his full height, but Neville came up and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. He gave the other boy a nod of thanks, then turned back to Oliver. "More importantly, I have something for you."

XXXX

I don't know when it happened, that moment I stopped considering Lisa to be an annoyance. I sat at my desk, not paying attention to my teacher's lecture, pondering, trying to discern the moment Lisa became my... friend. Yes, that was the word. I failed, unfortunately. I couldn't pinpoint any specific incident when I began to think of her as something more, something important. All I know is that it happened.

When the bell rang and class ended, I left the room with the other students. Many some goodbye to me; some did not. I didn't particularly care, but for the sake of being polite, said goodbye back.

Lisa was waiting for me outside.

"Hey, Harry!" She greeted me with undiminished enthusiasm. I tried hard not to smile.

"Lisa, how was class?"

"Boring!" She sang.

"Ha... boring, you say?"

"Really boring," she confirmed.

As we began our walk to the school entrance, I tried convincing the girl about the importance of education. I feel like most of my words flew over her head. That, or she just wasn't paying attention. Either way, she didn't seem to understand why learning and school was so important.

"So, Harry," Lisa said as we walked outside, the bright sun bearing down on us from the clear sky overhead.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering." Lisa wasn't looking at me anymore. She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, looking away. I frowned. "Would you be interested in having dinner with my family this Saturday?"

I blinked.

"Dinner?"

"Mm."

She nodded, still not looking in my direction. I thought her offer and, well, I couldn't see any reason not to accept her invite. Dinner with Lisa sounded infinitely more pleasant than dinner with the Dursleys. Still, a part of me felt reluctant. Hadn't I been avoiding making friends because I would be going to Hogwarts when I turned 11? Why form bonds when they would eventually break? Better to not befriend anyone than become friends and leave them later on. Those were my thoughts.

And yet, as I looked at Lisa, I wondered. Would it really be so bad? Surely, I could allow myself to befriend at least one person. I'll admit, books were nice, but I still felt lonely. Even sparring at the dojo didn't change this. I felt isolated, alone, much like when I lived in that broom cupboard underneath the stairs.

I'll also admit, if only to myself, that I did actually like Lisa. She was bright and cheerful, a ray of sunshine breaking through clouds of monotonous gray; a breath of fresh air, refreshing and crisp, blowing away the staleness that had become my life. That was Lisa Crawft.

"Sure," I agreed, and the cheerful expression on Lisa's face let me know that I made the right decision.