Harry had also shown them a precarious treehouse he and Luna had set up years ago in a willow tree. It had remained mostly intact despite being abandoned for a year, the structure being held together by ratty blankets, logs and weak sticking charms. One of his mama's only rules was that they were not allowed to bring food into the woods (Harry described an exciting encounter with a bear) but there were a bunch of board games and toys to play with.
Finally, it had gotten dark and the children were exhausted and hungry, so they stumbled back inside and ate the shit out of several pizzas.
Harry's nervousness was explained when he quietly admitted he'd never had a sleepover before. It had just been him and Luna before Hogwarts, and his mama had been strict about having guests over. Curled in blankets they'd arranged in a fort in the living room, grease dripping off their fingers from the pizza, Ron said with a stain of embarrassed red on his face that he'd only had his brothers before - all of them quickly growing too old to want to play with their little brother. Hermione offered him some muggle sour candy and told the story of how her parents had thrown her a huge party for her tenth birthday, and they'd invited her whole class and not a single kid had shown up. Suddenly it was like a floodgate had opened, and all of them had things gripping deep in their chests they whispered in the safety of their blanket fort. Harry told them in quiet tones about the Dursleys, Luna about her mother passing and father's subsequent distance, Ron about his insecurities about being the sixth Weasley son with big shoes to fill, Hermione about her parents' clear disappointment in her being a witch - their dreams of her being a doctor or a lawyer vanished as she abandoned it all for the wizarding world.
...
The four children gripped each other's hands under the blankets and fell asleep tangled in a pile of limbs.
Harry Is Not Remotely Suspicious
Harry arrived at Hogwarts late and with a strange-looking bird on his arm. Ron, Hermione and Luna had been very worried when he'd not shown up on the train. But he'd slipped into a seat with no warning or fanfare just as the first years lined up to be sorted.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Ron asked.
"Where on earth have you been?" Hermione scolded at the same time.
"This is my new familiar, Hedwig, and I missed the train. It was weird. Mama dropped me off at the station but I couldn't get through to the platform and then this house elf appeared and anyway, I'll tell you later."
Harry's eyes were wide and dilated, almost fully black with a ring of fluorescent green shining like he was a living flashlight. His hair looked thoroughly windswept and the shadows trailed even farther and darker behind him. Hermione decided not to ask how Harry had gotten to school on time. She eyed up the snowy owl which had jumped off Harry and stood unnaturally still next to him. Its eyes blazed the same vibrant green color as Harry's own. If she'd had to guess, she would have thought the thing was taxidermied if she had not seen it move. Hedwig did not blink, did not move, did not seem enticed by the scents of food wafting through the air. "She was a birthday gift from my mama," Harry continued, either ignoring or oblivious to his friend's unease. "I raised her all by myself so I think it's natural she became my familiar after that."
"Very nice," Hermione faltered after an awkward moment. "Now we'll be able to send letters over break, it'll be nice."
"Yes, nice," Ron agreed after another second. Silence as thick as Harry's unnatural shadows lingered in the air until McGonagall's "Lovegood, Luna" pulled the trio's attention to the sorting.
"Aw," Harry complained as she was instantly sent off to Ravenclaw. "I was hoping Luna would join us."
"Well Ravenclaw does suit her," Hermione said. "Ron, your sister looks extremely nervous. You didn't let Fred and George convince her she'd have to fight a troll, did you?"
When Ginny Weasley joined them, she stared at Harry for a long moment, her eyes wide and cheeks blushing. Then her expression shifted to confusion, she looked at him a little harder and a shiver forced its way up her spine.
She'd always imagined Harry Potter being this tall, brave boy with kind eyes and a wide smile. But instead he was… creepy. Weird. Off. He was fairly short, lanky and wild - his eyes glowed, his grin was manic, something about him just screamed danger bad go away! Like he was a wolf blending perfectly into sheep's clothing. She sat next to the twins instead, but the hint of dread didn't go away until she was finally up in her dorm.
Hopefully, Tom would be able to explain what she'd noticed.
.....
Join my p@treon and read ahead by more than 60+ chapters.
Link : [email protected]/InfinityWeaver
Free members can read the next two chapters for free on my p@treon