Disclaimer: I own nothing. So sue me.
Author's Note: Here's an update. Hope you like it, people. I apologize for all canon mistakes made here. All timeline, sequence of events and article errors are entirely my fault. And for the sake of creative license, I've added some new bits and events into the canon. My apologies for any confusion caused.
And oh yes, I can't recall the exact troll scene from the books (I don't have books 1-4) so I'm using a modified one from the Warner Bros. movie.
31st August, 1991
Harry Potter had had the most exciting time of his life. First of all, he had discovered barely a week ago that he was a wizard. Then Hagrid had taken him, far away from his miserable existence with the Dursleys into his brand-new, glorious existence. Why, it seemed almost laughable that two weeks ago, he was dreading school and having to wear Dudley's cast-off pieces of elephant skin, the prospect of the rest of his life spent stuck in the cupboard under the stairs… And now, he was going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in a bright scarlet train from a platform that supposedly never existed…
It was almost…magical.
Of course, there was the matter of how he was being treated. For the first 11 years of his life, he was treated with disdain and hostility by the Dursleys. His schoolmates were the same, thanks to the malign influence and bullying of his cousin. Here, in the world o magic, he was a hero. Strangers in the streets stopped to shake his hand. There were books which mentioned his name. Rooms of people cheered whenever he entered. And as always, he could feel their eyes perform the same flicking action, upwards to his forehead, to the lightning bolt-shaped scar which remained etched there.
Harry was interrupted in his musings by the grating sound of the compartment door and his new-found friend, Ron Weasley, entered with two pumpkin pasties and a small paper bag dangling from one hand.
"Hey, Harry," he grinned. "I got us some more stuff from the trolley."
He handed the pasty to Harry, and threw himself into the seat opposite.
Harry looked at him from over his pasty. It was a good thing he had met Ron when he did at the station, especially after embarrassing himself like that, asking the Muggle stationmaster where was Platform 9 ¾. As was everyone else, Ron was in awe of him and his scar.
But there was someone else also on his mind.
Earlier, after he and Ron had settled into the compartment, a girl had bustled in, searching for a toad.
She was completely unlike any of the other girls he had encountered before. She had asked the two dumbfounded boys whether they had seen a toad, told them how excited she was about going to Hogwarts and that she was Muggleborn, asked them why hadn't they gotten changed into their robes and introduced herself, all in one breath.
Even more bewildering, she had interrupted his own introductions, informing him who he was and telling him that he was mentioned in some books she had read.
It was enough to cow a lesser boy.
Harry frowned as he tried to remember her name. It was unusual enough…
"Hermione?!"
His head snapped up as a brown, bushy-haired head popped in, wearing a disapproving look on its face,
"The train is reaching Hogwarts in about ten minutes," she informed them peevishly. "And you two haven't changed into your robes yet."
The two boys began rummaging in their trunks as the head withdrew. "God, she acts like she's already swallowed whole…I don't know, a book about Hogwarts or something like that!"
"I heard that. For your information, it's called 'Hogwarts: A History'," came a voice from outside.
Ron groaned audibly as Harry suppressed a laugh. These two seemed destined for conflict.
But he had sensed something about Hermione that betrayed her bossy exterior.
October 31st, 1991
Two months had passed since that first journey on the train and Harry was more or less settled into his new school life. Ron was now his closest friend, though he had made many others such as the Gryffindors. He had been welcomed into the house with open arms, though with not a little bit of chatter and the gradually familiar sight of people craning their necks to get a glimpse of his scar. Automatically, his hand went to his forehead and smoothed his fringe.
As he had predicted, Hermione Granger had been a big hit with the teachers and an equally unpopular addition to the Gryffindor first-years. Ron had groaned again beside him when the Sorting Hat had announced, "Gryffindor!".
Until now, Harry didn't know what to make of her. Outwardly bossy and unfriendly, her nose constantly buried in a book, Hermione had more that once almost blinded him when her hand shot up in class to answer questions from the professors. The other students had been quicker to pass judgment, shunning her completely. Ron had called her a 'know-it-all' more than once.
Her reaction had surprised him. If, Harry reasoned, she was truly a bookworm who cared nothing for anything else but her grades, Hermione's status as a social pariah would have not fazed her in the least. Instead, she now spent a lot of her time crying in the girls' toilets.
Harry glanced around, a little guiltily. It was already halfway through Halloween dinner and Hermione was nowhere in sight. He hadn't seen her, not since Ron sent her off, in tears, after Charms class.
Evidently, Ron felt the same way, for he put down his fork and knife and leaned over the table.
"Seamus, where's Hermione?"
"The toilet, as usual. Parvati says she's been there all afternoon, crying her eyes out."
Harry and Ron exchanged guilty looks.
Harry opened his mouth to speak when suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall burst open with a crash.
Professor Quirrell stood framed there, his face a ghastly shade of white. "T-Troll! In the dun - dungeons!" he cried.
As one, the teachers rose to their feet. There was chaos in the Hall as students chattered and quite a few small screams echoed. Harry was vaguely aware of Professor McGonagall's voice over the din, gathering her house together to take them back to their dormitory.
A little later, he and Ron were making their way up the spiral staircase under the guidance of Percy, Ron's fifth-year Prefect older brother when the thought struck him.
He stopped and pulled Ron's arm.
"What?" he asked.
"Hermione. She doesn't know about the troll."
"Oh blimey," Ron shifted uncomfortably.
Harry turned and looked around, making sure Percy was well out of the way. Once he was distracted with a pair of girls, he and Ron took off down the corridor, almost flying to the third-floor girls' toilets.
They were barely a hundred feet away from the door when the two boys froze. A path of devastation, with upturned suits of armour, broken torch brackets and furniture greeted them, leading straight into the girls' bathroom.
"Oh blimey," muttered Ron again, his face a little pale.
As if an answer to him, a piercing scream filled the air. Hermione.
Harry needed no hesitation, sprinting into the toilet, Ron close by. The troll was a massive grayish-green creature, its head brushing the ceiling. In its stubby right hand, it wielded a crude and roughly-hewn club which it was using to decimate the row of sinks under which Hermione was crouching, terrified.
"Hermione!" shouted Harry, mind racing.
"Help me!" she shouted back, cowering against the wall as the club swept down again.
Without a thought, he flung himself onto the club before it could begin another deadly arc. The rough wood provided a good grip for his fingers, and Harry clung on grimly. The troll gave a grunt of surprise at the extra weight on his weapon and made an attempt to shake it off.
The world flashed before Harry's eyes as the brute swung the club around. "Hang on, Harry!" yelled Ron, eyes darting around in search of a weapon he could use. Finally, the troll grew tired and Harry took advantage of it to hop onto the troll's shoulders.
The troll screwed up its piggy eyes, tiny brain struggling to comprehend where the boy had gone when a bit of rubble bounced off its back.
"Hey! Over here!" yelled Ron, chucking a length of broken plank at it. With a bellow, the troll brought the club down with a terrific crash on the spot Ron had been standing.
Harry had a sudden flash of inspiration and jammed his wand up the troll's nose. "Eeeuw," he said under his breath. It worked. The troll lost interest in flattening Ron and roared loudly, scrabbling at its own face with its hand.
On ground level, Ron had also been hit with an idea. Whipping out his wand, he cried, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club was wrenched out of the troll's grip and hovered precariously in mid-air, provoking a grunt of surprise from the creature. With a look of glee, Ron flicked his wand downwards.
The club fell, connecting with the troll's cranium with an audible clunk. It swayed back and forth, Harry struggling to maintain his hold and finally crashed down face first. Harry rolled off its broad back, unharmed.
Ron stood there, in a trance, at the felled behemoth. Hermione was still crouched against the wall, similarly transfixed and Harry ran over to her, offering his hand.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his eyes as he helped her to her feet.
"I guess so," she replied a little awkwardly. For the first time, Harry saw none of the arrogance and confidence she had been projecting.
The bookworm had been a front.
They were interrupted by a sound at the doorway.
"Oh my goodness!" said Professor McGonagall weakly, clutching the ruined doorframe as Professors Snape and Quirrell drew level with her, Quirrell looking pale and Snape furious. "Potter, Weasley, Granger…are you hurt?"
They shook their heads furiously. Harry's mind raced as the reality of the situation sank in. He would be expelled, banished back to the lonely cupboard and the Dursleys. How would he explain this? Ron caught his gaze, the pallor of his face showing thoughts mirroring his own.
"Explain yourselves, the both of you," said their housemistress sternly, glancing at the both of them in turns.
They took a deep breath, and began talking.
"Well, we – "
"We just – "
"It's my fault, Professor. They were looking for me."
Hermione's voice cut in over Harry and Ron's hesitant explanations and every face in the room swiveled to her.
"Hermione – ?" said Ron weakly.
"Miss Granger, what are you saying?" Professor McGonagall looked as though she was seeing Hermione for the first time.
"I – I went looking for it. You see, I'd…read about them in the library and I wanted to catch one." She paused to stare at the recumbent creature. "I'd be dead if Harry and Ron hadn't come looking for me."
To her credit, Professor McGonagall recovered quickly. "Miss Granger," she spluttered, "What were you thinking? Such utter foolishness! I am deeply disappointed in you. Ten points from Gryffindor for plain idiocy!"
Harry saw Hermione hang her head, face burning with shame.
"And the two of you – !"
Harry and Ron's focus snapped back to her, awaiting her fury.
"Ten points each…to Gryffindor, for sheer dumb luck. There was no way three first-years could have taken on a fully-grown mountain troll – let alone one – "and she cast a significant glance at Hermione – " and all of you will not be as lucky next time."
She swept out imperiously. Snape followed, a sour look on his face, most likely because Harry had not gotten expelled. But no one noticed Quirrell's features twist into a horrible snarl of frustration before it regained its regular appearance.
As he walked back up to Gryffindor tower, Harry felt that things were going to change.
Author's Note: I'm afraid that future updates won't be as fast. I just happened to have the time this weekend to write another chapter but I'll try my best .
