( gif description:/ a black and white shot of Magdalena Zalejska in a black ski cap chewing gum; she slowly backs away from the camera. As she turns and walks away, the camera pans downwards. There are blurred street lights in the background and a fence off to the side /: end description)

෴✵෴

❝ She recognized that that is how friendships begin: one person reveals a moment of strangeness, and the other person decides just to listen and not exploit it. ❞

─ 𝑀𝑒𝑔 𝑊𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑧𝑒𝑟

෴✵෴

The park was nearly empty, save for the girl on the swings, who was very odd. She was by her lonesome, but somehow she didn't seem to mind. In fact, the girl seemed to prefer it this way. But that is not what made her odd. Nor was it the reason eight year old Harry Potter found himself watching her from behind the bushes. 

The girl swung back and forth on her swing, getting higher and higher before finally leaping off without fear. She flew ── actually flew ── for a solid three seconds before gently floating back to the ground, light as a feather caught in the wind. The girl was giggling to herself, running back to the swing set to have another go at it. 

Harry was beside himself with glee. He knew what this meant. He knew, because he himself was a very odd boy. In fact, all the Potters were quite strange and could do things like this all the time. This girl was just like Harry and his family, he knew it. And what she was doing on the swings proved it. Only, Harry was sure the girl didn't know how different she was ── how special she was. 

So, he watched. And he waited. Because he was going to tell her. And he was going to do it today! He just needed the right moment… 

Well. He tried to wait for the right moment anyway, tried to work out what he'd say, but of course, his sister ruined it. Amaryllis Potter had a big mouth. She also had an annoying habit of ruining all of Harry's plans. 

Amaryllis appeared beside Harry, almost out of thin air, smirking in that annoying way only little sisters could manage. "Whatcha doin'?" 

She was a year younger than him, but it'd be hard to tell for someone who didn't know the Potters well. The siblings were the same height already, and most people assumed they were twins. Though, they looked nothing alike. 

Harry was identical to their father in nearly every physical aspect, save for the eyes. The same messy black hair. The same scrawny build. They even shared similar glasses (this was because James, Harry's father, had let Harry pick out his latest pair for him). But they didn't share the same eyes. Harry had his mother's eyes ── a vibrant, emerald green, which held all the kindness in the world. 

Meanwhile, Amaryllis looked more like their mum, Lily ── dark red hair, pale skin, a smile that lit up the room. She didn't have glasses, and she was legally blind. But, just as Harry had Lily's eyes, Amaryllis also shared her father's eyes. A dark hazel filled with as much mischief as Harry's green ones were filled with kindness. 

 Amaryllis also shared James' sense of humor. She was only seven, but she was already a master prankster. She had even already started to improve upon some of the Marauders' (that was the name of James' friend group in his school days) old tricks. Much to the dismay of one Professor Severus Snape, who was their mother's best friend since their own childhood and dreaded the day Amaryllis would attend his school. 

Harry blushed at the sudden appearance of his sister. "Go away, Amy." He shooed at her with his hand, but she didn't budge. 

"You're watching this girl aren't you?" Amaryllis' grin widened, as she looked between her brother and the girl on the swings. Harry knew she was up to no good at once. 

"No," he lied. "I'm not." 

"Oi! Girlie! Yeah, yeah, you on the swings! My brother has a crush on you!" 

"Amy!" 

But it was too late. The girl had heard. She stopped her swinging and floated to the ground once more, looking startled. 

Harry stepped out from his hiding place, thoroughly embarrassed. His sister was cackling next to him; he glared at her. "Um. Hi," he said. "I'm… I'm Harry." 

"Not Powers?" the girl asked. 

"No. I'm just Harry. Harry Potter." 

"Oh." She looked disappointed. "I'm Sophia. Sophia Tuffin." 

"And I'm Amaryllis, in case anyone was wondering," Harry's sister piped up. 

"She wasn't," Harry told her. "Stop being a brat. Go away." Yes, he knew it was rude, but he was very annoyed with his sister for ruining this. Plus now the girl probably thinks he's creepy because of her. 

"That's mean. I'm telling mum." 

"Well, I'm asking Uncle Severus for tips on petty revenge." Severus Snape was a master at petty revenge. Once, when a mean boy named Draco Malfoy had called his mother a foul word, they got him in trouble with his father by putting snakes in his bag and making it seem like he'd meant to set them loose in the Malfoys' home. A small act of vengeance, but Uncle Severus says Harry shouldn't get too carried away with it. Even if the Malfoys deserve it. 

(Uncle Severus will deny it, but Lily insists that James had been rubbing off on her oldest friend, ever since she had gotten them to make amends with each other.) 

"Mummy!" Amaryllis called, and Harry was quick to clamp his hand over her mouth. He didn't need their parents getting involved. Then, how would he tell the girl what she was? Who would tell her if Harry didn't? 

"Shush, Amy! Ouch!" Harry pulled his hand away, feeling a sharp pain. He glared at his sister. Amaryllis grinned back evilly. "Did you just bite me? Uncle Remus doesn't approve of biting! I'm telling him!" 

"Well, then, I'm telling Uncle Sirius that you are being a killjoy." 

"Then, I'll tell dad that you're the one who took his cloak!" 

"Then, I'll tell Uncle Peter that ─" Amaryllis no doubt had another annoying statement on the tip of her tongue, but just then the Potters' attention was brought back to the girl. 

She was giggling at them. "You two are funny," Sophia said. 

"I can't tell. Are you being mean or nice?" Amaryllis squinted at the other girl. 

"It's a compliment," Sophia assured. She sounded a little older than she actually was, so Harry thought she must have been really smart. 

He blushed when he realized the girl, Sophia, was still staring at them. He had always hated being at the center of attention, unlike his sister who reveled in it. "Um ─" 

"How come you were watching me?"

"Well, I  ─" 

"Did you see me fly? I hope it's not very disconcerting. I don't know how I can do it. I just can…It's really strange." 

And Harry's excitement returns. This is his chance! "No it's not! It's not strange at all! You're a witch!" 

The girl, Sophia, frowned at that, as if she thought Harry was insulting her somehow (he wouldn't find out until much later that Muggles killed people because they thought they were witches, so at the time he was very confused by this reaction). She folded her arms over herself and scowled at Harry. "That's not a very nice thing to say."

"No! It's not a bad thing. My sister's a witch, too!" Harry said, pointing at Amaryllis, who was smirking at how poorly this exchange was going. "And… and so's our mum. And our dad's a wizard. And so am I! All our friends and family can do magic, just like you!" 

The girl, Sophia, blinked. She looked like she didn't believe him. "Magic? Just like me?" 

"Yes! That's how you could fly off the swing just then. It was magic! You're a witch!" 

"Witches don't exist. And there's no such thing as magic." Sophia huffed, as if that settled it. 

But Harry was adamant. "Yes, there is! Look, I'll show you." Amaryllis sighed in annoyance, but Harry ignored her, looking around for something to do. He spotted a small rock on the ground and picked it up. Holding the rock tightly in his hands, Harry concentrated hard. His mother had shown him how to do this. He was sure he could do it, if he tried… 

And there! The rock had transformed into a blooming, bright yellow sunflower in the palm of his hand. He grinned at the girl, Sophia, proudly. She looked amazed. 

"Magic!" she gasped. "It's real?" 

Harry nodded. Amaryllis grunted. "Well, this is boring…" She started off in the other direction. "I'm going to go find the twins…" The twins were their Uncle Peter's children ── Magnus and Matilda. They were the same age as Harry, but they were both as wild and chaotic as Amaryllis was. That was why the three of them got on so well. 

Harry ignored her and let her go, too busy smiling at his new friend. Sophia grinned back, taking the flower in her own hand now. "Show me how to do it." 

෴✵෴

Quidditch practice runs long. Nina thinks the very idea of sport in general is tedious, but she's happy enough for the light rain that freezes her skin (to remind her she's still very much alive and that she still very much exists ── it's easy to forget these days). 

She's sitting in the bleachers on the pitch, waiting for Malfoy's goons to finish up with the team (it's supposed to be Malfoy, too, but he skived off at the last second, so it's just the two). There's a stack of books next to her. Homework, mostly. But she has a few classics, just to ease her mind when she gets frustrated. She's also brought her journals (Nina had wanted to be prepared, knowing this would be a tremendously dull function for her). 

Her hands are numb from the cold, but she doesn't care to warm them in her pockets. At least she's feeling something. 

Nina hasn't been able to focus on much besides that mirror in the Room of Requirement for the past few days. The one with the fantasy world built inside instead of a reflection. She'd looked into it again the last time she and Malfoy had gone to work on the Vanishing Cabinet (Nina makes him do most of the work, since she doesn't care enough to focus on it anyway).  It'd shown her… some things. She's not sure how to feel about it. There's an idea forming in her head. She doesn't know if it's a good idea. It's not likely to go anywhere, anyway, but it's an idea. And she's thinking on it, because she thinks on all her ideas. 

So, while the Slytherin team tries to make due without their seeker and the Gryffindor team waits impatiently for their turn a few seats down from her, Nina comprises a list. 

The pros and cons of befriending Harry Potter. 

Not something she would have thought about doing before looking in the mirror, she will admit. She's simply never thought about Potter before. But the mirror had stirred up a sudden curiosity. An alternate universe, she thinks, or something dreamt up by her own imagination (if the mirror shows only her greatest desires, perhaps, some part of her, whether her conscious mind is aware or not, wants to befriend the famous boy?). Nina's not sure. 

But in the mirror, in the world where He was never born, they had become friends. From childhood. Nina Snape (though her name had been changed to Sophia Tuffin; as there was no Dark Lord, Mirror World Nina had grown up with her birth parents, who had given her a different name than Real World Nina [or perhaps it was less cause and effect and more of Nina longing for her birth parents; perhaps, she, deep down, wants a different name as well?] but either way it's her) and Harry Potter were childhood friends. 

Weird… 

Nina isn't planning on making it a reality, though. At least she doesn't think she is. Fantasies are fantasies for a reason. Or perhaps, instead it's what could have been ── what should have been. Nina isn't sure about all the mirror's mechanics. Is everything she sees some secret desire hidden so deep inside her mind that not even she can recognize it? Does she want everything the mirror shows her, or is it simply showing her an alternate history based around her biggest desire ── a world where The Dark Lord had never been born. Is this how things would have been for sure? Would Nina and Harry Potter have been friends? 

The idea seems a bit absurd. She tries to picture herself approaching Potter and asking if he wants to be friends. It doesn't end well in her head; it involves a lot of laughing and scoffing. There's really no other way it could turn out. But she's still thinking about it. For some reason. 

She could ask, just to know for sure, but it might be just as well to save herself the embarrassment. It's too soon to make a proper decision. She's only just got the idea a few nights ago; there's no sense in making any rash decisions. Nina isn't impulsive. So, she makes a list. The cons seem to be longer than the pros, thus far. 

Malfoy and Potter are enemies and the forced allyship Nina has with Malfoy will make things complicated

Slytherin and Gryffindors almost never get on anyway

The Task (which will heavily dampen any friendship they may have, as Potter's already suspicious of them).

Potter doesn't want to be her friend anyway (he's already made it clear he thinks she's bad just like her father)

Asking would only result in her own embarrassment 

Even if Potter did want to be her friend, his friends wouldn't like her much (she thinks, because it's not like her father has been the nicest to any of them, and why should they trust her anyway?) and she wouldn't want to put him an awkward position 

But there are a few pros. Not many. But there are some. Well. Namely two: 

Nina's father would hate it (and this is the very premise of the idea, if she's being honest with herself)

Malfoy would also hate it (anything to get under the Ferret Boy's skin) 

She's not sure these (and because a mirror told her to) are very good reasons to befriend someone, however. It wouldn't be very good or honest. At least, she thinks that's what Fin would probably tell her. Fin is better with people, though. She's good at talking and being nice and empathizing. She's scary when she's mad, but she's only angry when people insult her friends. So, people trust her. People like her. Fin is good. Nina is… less good. It's why she has more friends than Nina. 

But anyway… 

Nina glances up to watch as the Slytherins start packing up and the Gryffindors begin their warm-ups (she thinks that's what it's called when they're just flying around the pitch, anyway, but again she's not so good with sport). Potter's hovering at the center, instructing everyone else (Nina supposes that must make him the team captain or something; and it dawns on her that her interest in Quidditch is so little that she doesn't even know who the Slytherin captain is). 

What do Potter and I even have in common anyway? Nina thinks to herself. Aside from apparently wanting the same job, she can't think of anything. Then again, Nina isn't sure what Potter's interests even are (well Quidditch is one thing obviously but besides that she's clueless). 

Another reason trying to befriend Potter is a bad idea. 

Nina doesn't know why that stings so much. Maybe she just wants someone to replace Fin (even though that is an impossible feat, because no one could ever replace her best friend). She hates the mirror for putting the idea in her head. And she really, really misses Fin. She wouldn't need to think about making new friends if Fin was still here. Not that she's bitter at Fin for leaving. She understands. Mostly. She only wants Fin to be around because it'll make things easier for herself. 

Nina is just selfish. 

(That's probably why she was put in Slytherin ── house for the bad kids.) 

She just wants someone to complain to about everything that's pissing her off. Someone to distract her from everything. Nina, Merlin help her, even misses the annoying presence of the Pettigrew twins. Magnus purposely mispronouncing her name… Matilda's lame attempts at plaiting Nina's hair… Nina's so desperate for attention she may have even let the Gryffindor fix her hair if she'd been around. But of course the twins were gone as well…

Well. Maybe it's better like this anyway. This way, Nina can't take anyone else down with her when she falls. 

"Why do I have to go get her?" 

"Because you lost rochambo. And because I don't want her to hex me." 

"So, I get hexed instead?" 

"Exactly! Glad you understand." 

"I actually hate you." 

"That's mean, Goyal. Really, I think you've just damaged my feelings beyond repair." 

"Yeah, well, go cry about it with Moaning Myrtle." 

Nina would be lying if she were to say this conversation isn't surprising. Partly because she didn't know Crabbe could pronounce the word 'rochambo' never mind the fact that he even knows what is (Nina guesses it must be some wizard version since he's unlikely to know about the muggle version, unless, perhaps, they just don't know it's a muggle game to begin with). But it's also shocking to hear the pair of them actually talking. Like normal people. 

Who knew the goons had personalities beyond 'mindless grunts who bodyguard Malfoy?' That, she thinks, is quite the revelation, though she's sure no one will believe her if she tells them (not that she has anyone to tell; not that she even enjoys gossiping in the first place). 

Nina places her pros and cons list inside The Importance of Being Earnest and switches it out for her journal ── it's the one she uses for profiling. She's got a list of nearly everyone (at least the students in her year) and the observations she's made about them. Next to 'Vincent Crabbe' and 'Gregory Goyal' there's 'possible robots designed by Malfoy.' Nina crosses this out and writes 'actual human beings' instead. 

There's footsteps coming up the bleachers. Nina pretends she doesn't notice. 

"What's a… a… roo… boot…?" Goyal is standing above her now, trying very hard to read the word 'robot' from over her shoulder. Nina supposes he won't have ever read the word before, being pure-blood and all. They're a very secluded lot. Only exposed to pure-blood things (with the exception of rock-paper-scissors, apparently). 

"Row-baat," Nina corrects. She snaps the journal closed. "It's a muggle contraption." 

"Oh." 

"I won't hex you, by the way." 

"...Oh." 

Hm. Well, he's less chatty now. Nina wonders if she's being intimidating somehow. A lot of people seem to think she's a scary girl, but she's not entirely sure how to 'tone it down.' Fin says it's part of her charm, but Nina doesn't feel like it's very charming. In fact, it's quite annoying. She's not trying to be scary, she just is; she doesn't mean to intimidate people, she does. 

But she also doesn't feel like she's doing anything that should be considered scary. She's sitting in the bleachers surrounded by books. Granger is doing the same thing not far away, but no one calls her intimidating. Or do they? She's never heard anyone call Granger that. Granger gets called smart. She gets called the brightest witch of the age. Perhaps, it's their choices in material that makes the difference? Granger's books are all academic, wizard books. Nina's are a combination of wizard and muggle books, which is mostly horror fiction. 

Still. Other people read horror fiction. They aren't scary. But whatever. 

People are confusing. 

That's why Nina likes to avoid speaking to them at all costs. It's exhausting, trying to navigate the way their minds work. 

Nina starts reading The Haunting of Hill House, ignoring the fact that Goyal is still obviously there; he's obviously trying to collect her on Malfoy's behalf. But Nina doesn't care. If Malfoy wanted to talk to her, he should have shown up. And he shouldn't have made one of his goons ── who are actual people, apparently ── come get her. So, she doesn't care. She's walked all the way out here to meet him, even though she hates sport, and he couldn't even be bothered to show up. 

But she's here now, and the weather is nice (at least, Nina thinks it is, but she's always preferred the dreary, rainy days). So, she's reading now. And she's not moving until she's read at least one chapter. Hmph. 

She's charmed the pages so the rain drops don't affect them so much (it's very difficult to read when the pages are all wet). Goyal is still standing around. He looks mildly uncomfortable, when she glances up at him. "Did you want something?" As if she doesn't already know. Nina turns the page without looking up at him completely. 

Goyal shifts, like he still thinks she'll hex him for breathing or something. Hm. "Well, Malfoy wants to meet you for something…" 

"Yes, and I want a giant, flesh eating monster for a pet," Nina says. He looks confused, so she adds, "Both are things that are not happening today, I'm afraid." Then, just to drive the point home, Nina kicks back, propping her feet up on the bench in front of her to get more comfortable. "Malfoy has wasted my time, and so I, in an extraordinary act of petty vengeance,  shall do the same to him. Besides, I asked if you wanted something, not if Malfoy wanted something." 

"Er…" But that small, awkward noise is the only response Nina gets. She shrugs and begins to read. 

Goyal watches her. Not in a creepy, perverted way. Nina is under the impression that he's waiting for her to tell him what to do next. Hm. "If you're waiting for me to move it's going to be a long wait, you might want to sit down. Unless you like standing, I dunno. Or you can go find Malfoy and tell him I'm not coming." 

She turns the page. "Whatever you want to do." Nina glances up at him, but the options seem to make him even more uncomfortable. "You could even run across the grounds stark naked if you wanted." He stares at her. She turns back to her book. "I don't recommend it, since you'll likely be suspended or even expelled, but you could, and I wouldn't care. That's my point." He doesn't say anything. Nina turns the page. 

She doesn't know why she keeps talking, but she does. Perhaps, she's just trying to fill the silence. Or perhaps, this is the closest she's come to an actual conversation (at least one that didn't involve stupid Death Eaters) in ages; perhaps, she's just that desperate for attention. "Might have been a couple seventh years who got away with skinny dipping in the Black Lake over there a few years back. Although…they were most likely Gryffindors." 

Goyal doesn't say anything about this. Nina does something else that surprises herself (perhaps, it's just that she's feeling rather rebellious as of late). She shouts down the bleachers to where Hermione Granger is absorbed in her own books as she waits on the other two-thirds of the Golden Trio. "Oi, Granger!" 

Granger jumps, and when she turns to look at Nina it's with an air of 'Please don't hex.' Nina ignores this. "There anything in Hogwarts: A History about skinny dipping in the Black Lake?" 

Granger blinks and splutters. "What? I… n-no. No, I ─ I don't think so…" 

"Bummer. Well, you can go back to whatever you were doing now, thank you." 

From above Potter and Weasley stop in mid air on their brooms; even from that height Nina can see them casting distrusting looks at her and her fellow Slytherin. Granger shrugs up at them, and they keep on with their sport practice. They're suspicious just because she's said a few silly words. Of course they are. Why shouldn't they be? 

Meanwhile, her own house mate is standing next to her, looking terrified for his own safety. Because even Goyal can tell Nina is just a bad person. A hypocrite and a liar. 

Nina tugs at her sleeve; she tries not to think about that goddamn tattoo. She tries, but it doesn't work. It's there, there's no covering it up. A forever reminder of her own turpitude. And even though she hides it, everyone can see it. They know. Deep down.

And that's why she's alone. 

Oh well. Perhaps, friendship just isn't meant to be. At least not for Nina. All her friends are gone. No one else is stupid enough to accociate with her. So. 

Nina turns back to her books. 

෴✵෴

When they get back to the castle, Nina tosses the list in the bin. It's hopeless anyway. To her annoyance Malfoy is waiting for them. Crabbe is there too, but Malfoy is much more annoying than Crabbe. At least, Malfoy looks just as irritated as Nina is. "Well, where have you two been?" 

"Fucking behind a bush, what's it to you?" Nina huffs. Goyal seems startled by this idea, but she ignores this since everything she says seems to startle him. 

Malfoy rolls his eyes. She can't tell if he believes her or not. She doesn't think so. "You were supposed to come find me after the Quidditch practice!" 

"Well, I hate to tell you this, Malfoy, but I'm not going to come running every time you blow the whistle," Nina says. She's already bored of this conversation. Not even mad or annoyed, anymore. Just bored. Everything is boring these days. "I'm not your dog." 

"Really? Because you sure act like a bitch." 

Crabbe and Goyal look like they are preparing to step in, just in case they need to defend their ── does he count as a friend? Well, he's not a very good one, but that's besides the point. They're both ready to pull Malfoy and Nina away from each other if need be. Even though Nina can hex them all into oblivion without breaking a sweat. She's not going to. But she can. 

Besides, Nina isn't all that offended, anyway. It's hardly the most hurtful insult that's ever been thrown at her. Not even in the top ten, actually. Malfoy isn't as clever as he likes to think he is. So, Nina just stares back at him, bored out of her mind. "I refuse to engage in a battle of wit with an unarmed man."

Then, she spins around on her heel and walks away, just to further agitate the prick. She smirks to herself when she hears him cursing her name behind her.

~

A/N: Yeah, so, like nothing all that plot worthy happens in this chapter. The pacing for this fic is super slow, and I'm still trying to find the groove for it so to speak so... yeah. But Greg and Nina had their first little moment! Eek! And potential Nina and Harry friendship? Whaaa???

There is so much going on this fic ngl. So much to do. So much to do...  but yeah. Hopefully it'll be okay. I have some trauma planned, just for a heads up. I keep chickening out of writing it (and changing how I want to do it). So, it may or may not be in the next chapter? (it kinda involves some sexual assault...? Like just kissing but still.) I'll put up a warning at the begining of the chapter I end up putting it in. Just to remind everyone.

Literally this whole fic is just trauma so...yeah. fun times.

Anyway. Hope you enjoyed this mess! Byeee!!