Disclaimer-I do not own the Harry Potter series! That masterpiece belongs to JK Rowling!

Note- The potions scene is a slight hybrid of the book and the movie. I did not come up with all of it. Please read the bold print at the end of the chapter. It has some info you may like to !

Halloween

Harry and his fellow first years quickly adjusted to life at Hogwarts. They quickly discovered the delights of living right next to the kitchens. The small creatures that worked there, called house elves, were only too happy to supply them with food or drink. Harry enjoyed most of his classes. However he quickly got irritated with people staring and pointing at him.

The worst happened on the way to his first Charms class. There were so many people gawking at him that the Hufflepuff first years barely made it in time. Charms was taught by the diminutive Professor Flitwick. He was a nice enough fellow, though excitable. The first time he came to Harry's name he fell off of what he was using as a podium. The first few classes detailed how each person had a different power level; how magic allows the body to grow faster and live longer; and the basics of controlling their magic.

Transfiguration was taught by McGonagall. She was stern, but a good and fair teacher. She too spent the first few classes teaching the theory of the course. The only downside was that this particular class was with the Slytherins, namely Malfoy and his two goons. Luckily Harry had managed to avoid being on the same side of the room.

Herbology was taught by Harry's Head of House, Professor Sprout. While his other classes demanded absolute attention, this class helped Harry relax. After a few classes he found that he was immensely fond of the subject

Defense Against the Dark Arts was, simply put, a joke. This class was taught by Professor Quirrell. The man had a horrible stutter, and seemed to be afraid of his own shadow. This made learning anything at all very difficult.

History of Magic was quite possibly the dullest class in the wizarding world. It was taught by Professor Binns, a ghost. He never ever got names right. Harry was "Mr. Gardener," Justin was "Mr. Flinch-Fetcher," and Ernie had to tolerate being called "Mr. Mac." The girls had it worse. Hannah was called "Miss Monk" and Susan went by "Miss Skellington."

Worst of all was Potions. Mercifully it was with the Ravenclaws. The rumor of Snape hating anyone not Slytherin was most definitely true. Poor Harry had it worst of all. The first class was undoubtedly a disaster as soon as Snape reached Harry's name.

"And here we have...Mr. Potter... Our new celebrity..."

Snape finished marking the roll and immediately fired a question at Harry.

"Potter! What would I get if I mixed powdered asphodel root with an infusion of wormwood?"

On the other side of the room a hand shot up, only to be ignored by Snape.

"You don't know? Pity... How about a bezoar? Where would you get one?"

Harry just sat there, utterly confused by the obvious display of contempt the man held for him.

"Do you know anything at all?! Here's an easy one: what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane? No? Idiotic Hufflepuffs!"

This sparked a bit of Harry's temper. Everyone had heard of how the Potter line had legendary tempers, no doubt fueled the numerous red heads in the family.

"How would I know any of those? Its your job to teach it to us, Professor."

"Since you obviously have no clue whatsoever, I shall tell you. As you said, Potter, I am here to teach. For the first, you would get a calming draught so powerful it is called the 'Draught of the Living Dead'. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and can cure most poisons. Lastly, they are the same plant, and also goes by the name 'aconite'. Write it down fools."

A flurry of parchment and quills was heard, each student eager to avoid earning the man's wrath.

"Oh, and Hufflepuffs...one point shall be taken for your classmate's outburst."

Justin and Harry were both about to object, but Susan was quick to stop them.

"Don't...I've heard that Snape can get even worse. Older students dread his detentions."

The class ended with a few more notes and Snape jabbing at both houses. The five Hufflepuffs wasted no time in getting out of the dungeons and the their common room. Harry went down to Hagrid's hut for some tea and related his first day.

That was the cycle for much of the time there. However on the weekend before Halloween, a holiday Harry had become accustomed to hating, there something far more exciting: quidditch. The first match of the year was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. While the entire school made its way down to the pitch, Harry and Justin had only one question.

"Just what is quidditch?"

This left their three friends speechless. Not knowing quidditch was inconceivable to them. Ernie was the first to speak.

"You don't know quidditch?! You just wait, its the best thing ever!"

"I'm sure they figured that out from hearsay Ernie," Hannah put in. "I think Susan should handle this one. She's the die hard here."

This ellicited a glare from Susan, but she went on to explain anyways. By the time they made it to the pitch, the other two boys were just as excited as the rest of their fellow students.

As they had been told, the game was fast. However Slytherin lived up to its description: doing whatever it took to achieve their aims. This took shape in many forms; from chants (which the older students refused to repeat), to blatant fouls. This nearly proved to be their undoing, as the Gryffindor chasers were magnificent and never missed a free shot. It came down to a race between seekers. The race itself was close, but the Slytherin team charged at the Gryffindor seeker, forcing her to veer away. This allowed the Slytherin seeker to make and easy catch.

The walk back was cold. The match had gone longer than expected and the air had begun to cool. Justin and Harry were thrilled about their introduction to quidditch. It didn't take long for them to agree that it was the greatest sport.

When they reached the castle gates, all five of the Hufflepuffs were exhausted. It had been a long day and all the excitement had worn them out. While many of their house mates wanted to stay up and talk quidditch, the five declined and went to bed, citing exhaustion and the need to focus on a nasty essay from Snape.

Monday was the day Harry hated the most: Halloween. To some it meant getting sweets, others saw it as a day that marked their liberation from Voldemort's terror. To Harry, it marked the day where he lost any semblance of a family.

Luckily for Harry, he had his three favorite classes on that day: Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology. He was hoping that the day wasn't going to be so bad after all. How very wrong he was.

Herbology was first. The plant for the day was the fearsome Devil's Snare. Both Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs banded together to keep the plant at bay, as it was especially violent that day. The bruised and battered Hufflepuffs made their way to charms. Charms was much tamer. They worked on levitation that day. Harry took to the charm quite well. Hannah and Susan were struggling a bit more than the other two boys.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" they incanted unison. The two girls growled in frustration. Harry turned to them.

"I think I may know what you're doing differently. Try moving the emphasis from the 'gar' part of the spell to '-o-'. You've got the intent, since the feather is moving a bit, you just have the emphasis mixed. Give it a try"

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Two feathers gently rose into the air.

"Well done you three! Ten points for each of you!" praised Professor Flitwick. Though he was Head of Ravenclaw, he couldn't help but be impressed by the talent those particular Hufflepuffs exhibited.

The first years traded grins. They were rapidly making a name for themselves, with Justin not too far behind.

Transfiguration was the last class before the feast. The weary students made their way to class and braced for a tiring session. Their task for the day was to transfigure their toad to a tin and then transfigure it back to its original form. Hannah was amongst the best for that class, followed closely by the other four. The class had nearly ended when disaster struck. Malfoy was still fuming over being dismissed by Harry in favor of those whom he considered to be inferior. He desired revenge, to rend their friendship to ruin; and he got his chance.

That day Malfoy was in the seat behind Susan and Hannah. He spent all class making desparaging remarks. Near the end of class he had managed to transfigure is toad and was struck by an idea. Smirking malevolently, he aimed his wand at the two girls in front of him and cast the transfiguration spell.

All hell broke loose. The girls looked down into their tins and saw what had happened. Their skin had turned into a mix of grays and greens and warts had appeared everywhere. Their hair had disappeared. Almost the entire class had erupted into laughter. The girls burst into tears and fled the room, no doubt to the nearest lavatory to fix the problem. The three boys knew that Malfoy was behind it, though there was no proof; they each vowed revenge on the spot.

The feast was due to begin, but there was no sign of the two first year girls. Harry, Justin, and Ernie wanted nothing more than to find their friends, but they had been told by Jason and Julia that the two girls were in the Transfiguration Wing lavatory and had been excused for the night. The massive doors flew open and screaming Quirrell ran though like a bat out of hell.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS! Thought...you ought to know..."

With a wimper he fell forwards. As soon as he hit the stone floor it was total anarchy. It took the magic infused voice of Albus Dumbledore to restore order.

"SILENCE! Prefects, take your House to their common room. Teachers, you will follow me to the dungeons."

As students filed out, Harry stopped Justin and Ernie.

"What about Susan and Hannah? They don't know about the troll!"

"You two go after them," Ernie said. "I'll find the teachers and inform them."

With that Justin and Harry ran towards the Transfiguration Wing, as fast as they possibly could. They arrived only to see a massive gray shape duck into a room. Screams of terror reached the boys' ears.

The troll had entered the girl's lavatory.

Harry and Justin immediately rushed in. The troll had the two Hufflepuff girls backed into a corner with its club raised.

Harry acted first. Running towards the troll's back, he jumped onto it, hoping to distract it enough so that Susan and Hannah could get away. His gamble paid off. The two girls used the second of distraction to get away. The troll thrashed about, trying to dislodge Harry from its back. One of the troll's hands grabbed Harry by the foot and pulled. Harry flew off the troll's back and fell in a heap. He cried out in pain as he landed on his ankle.

The three Hufflepuffs were frozen, fear clouding any possible thought that could save their friend.

The troll reached down and lifted Harry by his other foot and raised its club, intent on decorating the lavatory with bits of Harry. Harry managed to dodge the first swing.

"Do something!" he yelled to his frozen friends. "Anythi-"

His sentence was cut off by a scream of agony. The troll had grown weary of Harry's voice and squeezed, shattering the bones in his foot. The club was raised again and the troll swung.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" three voices cried in unison.

The club floated about the bewildered troll. It fell and landed with a sickening crunch. The troll crumpled and Harry was dropped, the momentum throwing him over to his friends. The girls collapsed sobbing. The Harry and Justin awkwardly reached out to comfort them, earning a tackling hug in return. Harry looked up, only to see their outraged Heads of House.

"Explain yourselves!" Professor Sprout was beside herself. How could they be so foolish?

"I believe that I can do that Pomona," cut in McGonagall. "You see, Miss Abbott and Miss Bones had been hit with a transfiguration spell. They became distressed and came here to collect themselves and reverse the spell. Mr. Potter and Mr. Finch-Fletchley undoubtedly came to warn them of the troll."

"In that case," Sprout began, "I award 10 points to the two boys."

"Professor Sprout, did Ernie tell you to come here?" Harry asked.

"Mr. McMillan? No, I didn't see him. I assume he followed directions and returned to the common room."

The boys' faces darkened. They could have died!

"Now if that is all, you three should help Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing. He is obviously hurt. Follow me."

After being fussed over by the matron, Madam Pomfrey, the four walked back to their common room. Harry spent the walk marvelling over how magic can fix broken bones in a matter of seconds.

"Unwavering Faith."

They were greeted by Ernie as soon as they entered.

"You're okay! Thank Merlin!"

"Yeah we are, but no thanks to you! Harry nearly died!" responded Justin angrily.

While it was a slight exaggeration, Harry didn't care. Ernie had left them to the trolls, literally.

The girls settled for glares. The four Hufflepuffs went to their rooms, totally tired and not wanting any more "excitement" for the day. While it saddened them slightly, they knew they couldn't rely on Ernie. He had chosen rules over his friends.

And that's all for the third chapter! I now have a general plot of ideas that goes halfway through year four. At this point I have a few questions for my readers: How are the characterizations? Do I have too much or too little detail? What can I improve on? Etc.

I'm going to try to get to the fourth year as fast as I can without sacrificing crucial content and plot devices that I want to use of JKR's. We all know that the real fun begins in year four! I shall try to update as soon as I can, though I don't think it will be more than a week. Thank you for reading and please review!