Harry Potter And The Unexpected Friend

Harry grinned happily; he was excited to talk to his godfather again and wondered what kind of advice he might have. He spent the rest of the day impatiently watching the clock, wishing he could make time move a little faster. After dinner he trained as hard as ever, for the moment forgetting his promise to Daphne, hoping it would help him pass the time. Eventually Harry was exhausted and it was almost 11, so he made his way back to the common room which was thankfully empty. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do if someone had been there. As the clock chimed, Harry wondered what exactly he was waiting for. His question was answered when the fireplace began to spark and a head came out of the fire.

"Sirius!"

"Hey kid. Sorry it took so long. I've wanted to talk to you for weeks, but I have to keep on the move."

"Don't worry about it, I understand."

"Harry, I have to know. Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No, I don't know how it happened."

"In that case you need to be very careful. Someone is trying to manipulate you or get you hurt. You need to be on the look out for anyone acting suspiciously. Get your friends to help."

Harry snorted at his godfather's comment. "If you mean Ron and Hermione, then I'm out of luck. They didn't believe me when I told them I didn't put my name in the cup."

"Fools! And Hermione had seemed so smart when we met."

"I still have a few friends, like Neville Longbottom, but most of the students think I am an attention seeking cheater."

"Longbottom? I knew his parents, good people. Now, about the tournament, what do you know?"

"I'm not supposed to know this, but the first task is dragons. I'm working on a plan."

"Good. Listen Harry, I have to go. The place I'm talking to you from isn't secure. Keep your friends close. Forgive Ron and Hermione if they deserve it, but be careful. I learned the hard way that a friend can betray you. Good night, Harry. I will stay in touch when possible.

"Good night, Sirius." With that the face in the fire disappeared, leaving Harry alone to think about the things his godfather had told him. Sirius was right; he needed to place more importance on finding out who entered him into the tournament. Who knows what else they might have planned for him. Harry yawned, decided to wait until tomorrow to start worrying, and went to bed.

...

"Potter, stay behind." Professor Moody commanded as the class let out. Harry sighed, wondering what was going on. When the last student had left, Moody sat down at his desk and motioned for Harry to take a nearby seat.

"So, what are you going to do about the first task?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"The dragon, boy! Hagrid showed you the dragons last night, did he not?"

"Professor, I really have no idea what you are talking about. I haven't talked to Hagrid in a few days."

"Hmm, he told me he got that Weasley boy to give you a note telling you to meet him last night. You didn't get the note, did you?"

"No. I'm not really surprised; Ron and I aren't exactly friendly right now." Harry explained.

"I see. Well, let me explain to you what you should have seen. You're going to have to get by a dragon and take something from it. So lad, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know sir." Harry answered, pretending that he had not spent weeks thinking about the problem.

"You have to play to your strengths. Like Quidditch, I hear you are good on a broom."

"That's true. But will I be allowed to bring my broom?"

"Of course not, but there is nothing in the rules that says you can't summon it. You know the Accio charm, don't you?"

Harry nodded and answered "Yes sir. I could do that." Privately, Harry was thinking that it was a great idea. On his broom he could move much faster, allowing him to get the egg easier. "Thank you, Professor. I'll keep thinking about it."

Professor Moody smiled oddly at him, before taking a flask out of his coat and gulping down its contents. Harry got his things and left, wondering why his professor was so interested in his plans for the tournament.

...

The first task was only two days away. Harry thought that with using Moody's idea to summon his Firebolt he had a better than average chance at completing the task. He was currently in the third floor classroom he had taken over practicing his summoning when he heard a knock on the door.

'I remembered to cast that silencing charm, didn't I?' Harry wondered. Checking again, he found the charm in place. So whoever it is must have known he was in the room. And the only person that knew he came here was…

"Hello Greengrass." Harry said as he opened the door for her. She came in with an excited look on her face.

"I've got an idea, Potter. It is going to sound crazy, but I think it is worth a try."

"Ok, what is it?" he asked.

"Let me explain. The wizarding world has a lot of stories that parents tell their children in order to teach them some moral or idea. Some of the 'darker' families, including mine, tell a collection of stories starring Salazar Slytherin which are supposed to teach proper behavior for a Slytherin. I'm guessing that you, a Gryffindor raised by muggles, haven't heard of them?"

"No. They sound like fairy tales though, are you sure these stories aren't just made up?"

"I pretty certain that they were just made up, but every story has a little bit of truth to it. And the story I am thinking of is called 'Salazar and the Dragon'."

Harry laughed, "So let me guess, it's story time now right?"

"Exactly. Now I'm not sure exactly how it goes, so I am just going to give you the basic story. One day Salazar Slytherin was chasing an enemy through the forest and stumbled onto a dragon. The dragon was going to attack him, but Slytherin managed to convince it that he meant her no harm. He warned the dragon that there was another wizard in the forest that would hurt her and her children. The dragon, thankful for the warning, let Slytherin go. A few hours later Slytherin found his enemy and realized he was heading towards the dragon, so Slytherin made no attempt to capture the enemy and let him face the dragon. When the dragon saw the other wizard she immediately killed him and fed his remains to her young."

"Well that was a gruesome story, but what is the point?" Harry interrupted.

"Quiet, I'm not done. Anyway, Slytherin made his way back to the village and told his cousin about what had happened. The cousin was jealous, and desired to have his own dragon to command. So he went into the forest, found the dragon, and ordered her to do his bidding. The dragon was offended by this and killed him as well. So what do you think?"

"You guys are raised with stories like this? What was that even supposed to teach?"

"Slytherin was smart and let the dragon take care of his enemy for him. Also, the cousin was stupid and disrespected a potential ally."

"Ok, but people can't talk to dragons. I've read a bunch of books by dragon handlers and none of them could do it."

"But you're forgetting Salazar Slytherin was a parseltongue. And that ability is hereditary, meaning that his cousin could have been one as well and that is why he was able to talk to the dragon. Parseltongues are very rare, so it isn't surprising that none of the dragon handling books would mention it." Daphne stated proudly.

"So you want me to talk a dragon into giving me an egg from its nest?"

"It's not a real egg." She pointed out.

"And this entire idea is based on children's story." Harry said, still wondering what to do with the idea.

"Yes, but what could it hurt to try? You already have a back up plan."

"Fine, I'll try it. But if the dragon bites my head off while I am trying to strike up a conversation I am going to haunt you."

"And Nearly Headless Nick would be so jealous that you get to go on the Headless Hunt. Where is the downside, Potter?"

Harry and Daphne both started laughing, and for a while Harry's worries about the tournament lifted and his thoughts were focused on how much he enjoyed the company of his new friend.

...

Author's note on characters and their personalities:

One of my goals with this story was to keep the characters close to how they are portrayed in the books, but allow them to change in reasonable ways which all link together. I see every small change in personality as either a direct or indirect result of Harry meeting Daphne in first year. For example, Daphne prevents Harry from taking Ron's point of view that all Slytherins are evil. Because of this, Harry is able to realize that the typically Slytherin traits of cunning and ambition aren't evil. The Sorting Hat had pretty much confirmed that Harry had the potential to have those traits in him from the beginning.

So perhaps Harry has become a little more cunning than the books portray over the years. Hermione's out of character reaction to his name being pulled out of the Goblet of Fire could be a reaction to that small change. As for Ron, I assume that the fact that Hermione did believe Harry in the books introduced a little doubt into his mind regarding his accusations towards Harry. But in this case he sees Hermione's disbelief as confirming his suspicions and thus his reaction is a little more extreme. Neville seems braver in this story, but my point of view on his bravery is that it has to be brought out by his sense of loyalty and friendship. In other words he is willing to be brave for his friends, but reluctant to be brave for himself.

In any event, the main idea is that one small change in the past can cause large changes in the future. It's all different now, so let's see where it takes us.

And a special thank you to everyone who has given me encouragement, criticism, tips, and ideas for this. It makes me want to keep going.