I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Hello everybody and welcome back to a new chapter of this Harry Potter story. I hope you enjoy reading it. If any of you have a remark or idea for the story don't hesitate to let me know. Good ideas are always welcome.
Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 4: 'Defeating a troll' for dummiesAfter a wonderful rest in a soft bed Hermione woke up about 20 minutes before she had to meet up with Harry for breakfast. She had met her roommates and while they seemed very nice and friendly they were a whole lot different that she was. Her roommates had talked for an hour about makeup, boys, fashion and girls stuff. Hermione however never was really into fashion and all that girl stuff, no she preferred reading a good book instead of wasting hours deciding what clothes to wear or in what color she wanted to paint her nails. But in the end she thought that she could become friends with them even if they would never be the best of friends. After taking a quick shower and getting dressed she went downstairs to the common room to wait for Harry, however when she arrived he was already waiting for her while reading a bit in his potion book.
"Good morning Harry, didn't expect you to be here already. Sorry if I made you wait." Hermione said.
"Don't worry Hermione, I'm used to getting up early so I just couldn't sleep anymore. Did you sleep well?" Harry said putting his book down. He was used to getting up early to prepare breakfast for the Dursley's so he couldn't sleep much longer than 6 am.
"I slept well, the beds are really soft here aren't they? How about you?" She asked.
"Well, once I got used to Ron's snoring I slept very well. I swear, Ron's snoring would make a bear who's hibernating wake up." Harry said making Hermione laugh.
They made their way over to the Great Hall and Harry told her what Percy had said about Severus Snape and how he had received such a look from the Potion Master. That was the reason he had read the first chapters of his book on Potions again just to make sure he was prepared. Hermione nodded saying that she too got a bad feeling about the man who seemed very unpleasant. When they arrived at the Great Hall there were only a few students already there and none of them were Gryffindor's. While they were having breakfast Prof. McGonagall came over with their class schedule.
"Good morning Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. I'm happy to see 2 of my new Gryffindor's up so early." She said while handing them a piece of paper.
"Good morning Prof. McGonagall. It's nice to see you again, I wanted to thank you again for everything you've done for me last month." Harry said politely. He really like her, she had a strict appearance but she was really friendly and helpful to him.
"Think nothing of it Mr. Potter, it was my pleasure. I'm glad to see you already made a friend here with Miss Granger, I'm sure the two of you will get along very well." McGonagall said smiling at the two kids sitting in front of her.
"We met in King Cross and we've become great friends, haven't we Hermione?" Harry said beaming at his friend. Hermione blushed a bright red and nodded smiling as well.
"Well, I shall see the both of you after breakfast for your first lesson in Transfiguration. I expect good results from the both of you." McGonagall said before nodding her goodbye and returning to her seat.
Harry then had to explain how he had met Prof. McGonagall which led to explaining a bit about the Dursley's which shocked Hermione when she heard how Harry was treated by his relatives. She couldn't understand how somebody could treat their own family like that but Harry said he was used to it by now and that when he was of age, he would just move out and never think about them again. Beside now that he was going to Hogwarts he wouldn't see them for months which was a very good thing in his eyes. Hermione accepted Harry's words but she still thought she should tell her parents about this but it could give Harry much more problems than he already had so she decided to let it be for the time being.
Hermione look at her schedule and asked Harry if he wanted to go the classroom early so they could practice a bit before class started. That way they would have some experience in doing magic. Harry eager to do his first piece of magic readily agreed off course saying it was an excellent idea. So then minutes later they had found the correct classroom and sat down in front on the second row. Hermione opened her book and started reading out loud what was written in the first chapter. It said that Transfiguration was the magical art of turning one object into another object. Of course there were some limitations but as long as you staying inside the limits you could do almost anything. Harry, having read the chapter as well could already imaging what kind of things they would be learning. Unfortunately they didn't have anything to transfigure so they just read and talked till class started.
Tired Harry sat down in a soft, red and fluffy couch after the first day of classes. He had seriously underestimate this magic business he thought. Hermione too had been surprised at how intensive learning about magic was. The day had been a rollercoaster of emotions from excitement, pride and happiness to embarrassment and anger. The day had started well in Transfiguration and Charms but had ended in misery with Potion.
Flashback
"Good morning class, I'm Prof. McGonagall and I will instruct you in the art of Transfiguration. Before we start on our first try in Transfiguration a word of caution, I will not tolerate foolishness of any kind. Transfiguration is an important part of magic and therefore can be dangerous if used in the wrong way. While you are in my classroom you will behave and obey my teachings. I will not hesitate to dock points or assign detentions and if you still don't shape up I will personally kick you out of my class." She said seriously. Harry and Hermione immediately sat a little straighter in their seat hoping that they wouldn't get kicked out of class.
After a short introduction of Transfiguration and the use in everyday life they finally got to start doing their first piece of magic. They had to try and transfigure a matchstick into a needle, which proved to be more complicated than they first thought. They had to perfectly visualize the needle before doing the necessary wand movements. This took some tries for both Harry and Hermione but both of them succeeded in transfiguring their matchstick into a perfect needle much to McGonagall surprise. She hadn't expected someone to succeed in the assignments in the first lesson. Just like she thought Harry and Hermione were talented in the art of magic. Harry she had expected since both of his parents were very talented during their time in Hogwarts but neither of them had succeeded this feat in their first lesson. Hermione was a Muggleborn witch thus she had no prior education or training and she too had made a perfect needle meaning she had excellent grasp of the theory.
"Very well done Mr. Potter, Miss Granger a perfect needle. 10 points to both of you for an excellent piece of transfiguration." McGonagall said with pride. She would keep an eye on those two, they could prove to be the next generations best witch and wizard.
Harry and Hermione blushed from the praise they received and the stares of their fellow classmates. The lesson passed fast after that and before they knew it they had passed their first class in their Hogwarts career. The following lesson was Charms with the very small but energetic Prof. Flitwick who Harry liked straight from the start thanks to his enthusiasm. During the lesson they learned the correct way making the wand movement necessary for Charms and after that he explained what kind of Charms existed in the magical world. After a very enjoyable lesson it was time for lunch and almost all of the students were famished but very excited. Ron had joined Harry and Hermione for lunch so they could catch up a little, Ron was complaining that he couldn't do the transfiguration in the morning. Harry assured him that he would get it in the next lesson.
After lunch they had a double Potion class with the feared Prof. Snape who's reputation had already spread amongst the first years Gryffindor's. They were unlucky however since they had the class with the first years of the Slytherin house. And everybody knew how much Snape favored his own house, so most of the Gryffindor's were prepared for the worst Harry included. He hadn't forgotten the looks he received from the man at dinner last night.
When they arrived at the dungeon they found it closed so they had no choice but to wait outside until their teacher arrived or opened the door. At exactly one minute before the hour the door opened revealing Prof. Snape who just ordered them inside. They quickly went inside and found a seat already fearing what could happen next.
"There will be no silly wand-waving or fancy incantations. This class will teach you the most noble art of potion making, although I doubt most of you will be able to comprehend the subtlety that is potion making." Snape said coldly. Nobody dared to move cause none of them wanted to be the victim of Snape's anger. "I will teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory or to stopper death. Now, let's see what you dunderheads know about potions." Snape said while scanning the crowd for a victim he could use. Suddenly a sneer developed on his face indicating he had found the unlucky student. Most of them were already trembling and hoping that they wouldn't get picked. Ron especially was very nervous since he knew absolutely nothing about potions or potion making.
"Potter! Yes, our resident celebrity, what an honor to have you in my class." Snape said sarcastically showing that he didn't consider it an honor at all."Tell me, what do I get if I added powered root of Asphodel to an infusion of wormwood." He said sneering since he thought Harry was just a dunderhead like the rest of them.
"It would result into a powerful sleeping potion known as 'Draught of Living Death', sir." Harry said feeling immensely glad that he read over the first few chapters of his book that morning. He inwardly smiled because Snape's face betrayed that he didn't expect Harry to know the answer.
"Well, look at that. Potter can be taught. Lucky shot I'm sure. Next question Potter, where would you look if I asked you for a bezoar?" Snape said again at Harry.
"I believe a bezoar is a stone that is very effective against most poisons and it can be found in the stomach of a goat sir." Harry answered confidently knowing he had given the correct answer.
"Lucky again Potter, what's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane? Snape said starting to get irritated at the boy.
Harry didn't know that one since he hadn't reached that chapter yet so thought about it for a moment but nothing came up so he had no choice and said he didn't know the answer to that question.
"Seems to me that you're not as smart as you thought you were, Potter. For your information there is no difference since they are the same plant." Snape sneered at Harry and some Slytherin students started snickering at Harry.
After a few seconds of gloating Snape assigned them a potion they should make by following the instructions on the board that had appeared. They each got a cauldron and started brewing their potion. It seemed pretty straightforward to Harry and Hermione so their brewing went without trouble. That couldn't be said for Ron and a boy named Neville Longbottom who both were submitted to Snape's ice cold glare after their cauldron exploded making a mess in their corner of the room. Both of them got detention and point reduction from Gryffindor.
End Flashback
It was now the last day of their first week at Hogwarts and Harry was getting very excited about the next lesson. Today they would learn how to fly on a broomstick, ever since he heard about it Harry had been fascinated and was anxious to try it. Hermione however was not so happy about having to learn how to fly and it took Harry a few hours of asking and begging to find out the reason for Hermione's fear. She was afraid of heights and was terrified of falling off the broom but Harry managed to calm her down by promising her that he would stay with her every step of the way.
Prof. Hooch ordered all of them to line up next to a broom that laid on the ground and place their hand right above it. Then she told them to concentrate and say "up", if they did it correctly the broom would raise into their hands. All of the students started to yell and scream but for most off then the broom just refused to move even an inch. Harry however who had experience with mediation just closed his eyes and relaxed for a second before giving the command and the next thing he knew his hand held the broom. When he looked around him he saw that he was the first to succeed, he laughed softly when Ron's broom hit him square on the nose causing Ron to yell out in pain. He saw that Hermione was having trouble so he went over her, he somehow that her fear of flying was hindering her in succeeding.
"Hey Hermione, how are you doing? Any luck?" Harry asked even if he already knew the answer.
"No, it just won't move. I don't understand, what am I doing wrong?" she said irritated that she couldn't get the broom to move.
"Let me tell you how I did it maybe that will help. Alright, first just close your eyes. Okay, now picture the broom lying on the ground in your mind. Do you see it?" Harry said. Hermione nodded showing she understood."Good, now picture the broom floating up until it reaches your hand. Now, picture it while focusing on your magic and then say 'up'. That should do the trick." Harry said confident that his friend would succeed.
Hermione listened to Harry's words and started picturing how the broom would float into her hand, after a few times she deemed herself ready to try it for real. So she concentrated on her magic and said 'up' while imagining the broom to go up. She was totally surprised when she felt the texture of the wooden broom in her hand. Opening her eyes she saw that the she had a firm grip on the broom, she looked over at Harry, who was smiling at her, and then she let out a small cry of success. Before she could thank Harry however Prof. Hooch had come over as she had seen Harry talk to Hermione.
"Very well done, Miss Granger. I don't know what Mr. Potter told you but it seemed to have worked very well. Nicely done, both of you." She praised both of them before turning away to help a few other students who were having trouble.
After that the lesson progressed nicely and Harry helped Hermione on how to mount her broom and hover slightly above the ground, she was terrified but somehow with Harry next to her she felt safe enough to try. Harry felt like a fish in water on the broom, it felt good to be free and he quickly got the hang of flying. After two hours of flying lessons, they were now free for the weekend and Harry and Hermione decided that they would spend the time together exploring the castle and preparing for next week lessons. Ron agreed to accompany them for the exploration of the castle but didn't want to spend his weekend studying since exams were still months away.
Time flew for Harry over the next few weeks and before he knew it the month October had reached to an end. There would be a big feast tonight for the celebration of Halloween and everybody but Harry was excited about it. Hermione had seen how Harry reacted when he heard about the celebration so she went over to him and asked him what was wrong. She and Harry had become the best of friends, they practically spend every minute together, though Harry had a few friends outside Hermione like his roommates, so she could read his emotions fairly well by now.
"Hey, you seem somewhat down. What's up?" she asked quietly since they were in the library.
"Oh, it's nothing Hermione. Don't mind me, I'll be fine." Harry said trying to evade the question. He didn't want her to worry needlessly.
"Come off it Harry, something is bothering you and I want to know what. We're friends right?" She said. Harry always did this she thought. As soon as she asked him something personal he shuts down.
"Of course we're friends. Fine, it's just that for me Halloween also means the anniversary of my parent's death so I feel kind of sad and a little lonely." Harry admitted.
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry. I should have known about that, I'm such a idiot." She said before giving Harry a small hug.
"It's okay, I'll be fine." He said quietly before Madam Pince kicked them out of the library.
"Don't be silly Harry, tell you what. Why don't we, I mean the both of us, leave the feast early and then hold a small remembering ceremony for your mum and dad?" She said.
"Really? You would do that for me? I would love that very much, thanks Hermione. You're the best friend ever." Harry said very glad to have such a good friend.
Hermione just smiled and nodded before turning back to her book on first year Charms. She felt very pleased and proud of herself for being able to help her friend out in trouble. Harry too started reading again in his book called 'Curses and spells for the young warrior', the book was immensely detailed on spells used in official duels. Most of the spells were still too advanced for Harry to use but some of them he should be able to do, like the cutting curse which was a low level curse but a very efficient one. He had also started learned a spell that would create a shield in front of him called 'Protego' which he definitely wanted to master.
So a few hours later Harry and Hermione slipped out of the Great Hall and went to an unused classroom and held a small ceremony to pay their respect to Harry's parents. They each said a little prayer and thanked them for their sacrifice. Harry also promised to make them very proud of him while Hermione promised them to protect Harry from danger. After a few moment of recollection both of them stepped outside the classroom and made their way over to the Gryffindor common room. Along the way however Harry and Hermione started to smell something and it seemed the smell was getting stronger and stronger as they walked. All of a sudden they heard a loud noise, something that sounded like a loud grunt, not only that they heard footsteps coming their way. Harry had a bad feeling and grabbed hold of Hermione's arm preventing her from turning around the corner. When she felt Harry grab her, she turned around to ask him what was wrong when she saw his eyes grow wide and looking right behind her.
She turned her head just enough to see a big green and smelly troll standing there with a large club in his hands staring back at them. She stood frozen in fear from the monster and just stared at it before Harry shook her out of her shock and started slowly backing away from the troll. Harry too started taking a few steps back not wanting to provoke the enormous troll but somehow it just raised his club and took a huge swing at both of them. Harry pushed Hermione out of the way and jumped to a side himself thus saving both their lives as the club cracked several tiles where is hit the ground. The troll just looked at both of them as if he was deciding which target to attack first. For a reason he picked Hermione and turned his back at Harry and started raising his club again. Hermione panicked from fear and seemed glued to the floor unable move an inch.
Harry realizing that Hermione would get killed or seriously hurt if he didn't do anything decided to take action. He quickly grabbed his wand and pointed it at the troll large back and yelled out 'Diffindo'. The spell impacted on the trolls back and a cut appeared making the troll stop his advancement. The cut didn't pierce the trolls skin very deeply but it made the troll turn around towards Harry who realized that he wasn't strong enough to take on a full-sized troll by himself. The troll however decided that Harry was now the most interesting target and made to attack him. He raised his club and tried to bash in Harry's head who quickly rolled out of the way out of the trolls reach. His martial arts training kicking in, he hurried over to Hermione and yelled at her to get up and run. Hearing Harry yell made Hermione aware of what was happening and she bolted in the opposite direction from the troll with Harry. The troll however wasn't going to give up so fast and followed in pursuit albeit much slower than Harry and Hermione. Both of them descended a long staircase and Harry come up with a plan. He had read a spell that he could use in this case and stopped running when he reached the base of the stairs.
"Harry, come on we have to run! What are you doing?" Hermione frantically said.
"I have a plan, just wait there for me." Harry said confident. He was sure his plan was going to work, it had to work otherwise they would be in trouble.
When he saw the troll reaching the stairs he got ready to launch the spell that would end this. The troll just started to descend the stairs several steps at the time, and Harry pointed his wand at the stairs and yelled out 'Glisseo' causing the stairs to become a slippery slide and jumped away from the stairs. The troll who lost his footing just slid down the stair at a neck breaking speed and when he came at the base of the stairs he impacted head first against the hard and ancient walls of Hogwarts knocking him out. Harry held his breath half expecting that the troll would get up but after half a minute he knew that they were out of danger for now. He went over to Hermione ready to run again but just then Prof. McGonagall, Prof. Snape and the headmaster arrived at the scene.
"What is the meaning of this Mr. Potter. All students were ordered to their common room." Prof. McGonagall said shocked at the sight of a knockout troll.
Harry and Hermione quickly told theirs professors what had happened and why they weren't in the Great Hall resulting in them not knowing that there was a troll inside the school. McGonagall sighed and stopped glaring at both of them when she heard that they had held a small service for Harry's parents. She hadn't thought about the fact Halloween was anything but a happy day for Harry. Snape however just snorted at the idea and commented that Potter had obviously disregarded the rules thus deserved to be punished but McGonagall quickly ended that idea by awarding 30 points to Harry and Hermione for defeating such a strong opponent. The Headmaster too congratulated them for a job well done and then dismissed them saying that he would take care of the rest. Both kids didn't have to be told twice and quickly ran off to the safety of the Gryffindor common room.
Once they were inside the common room both Harry and Hermione felt the adrenaline leave their bodies and slumped into a soft couch both exhausted from the experience. Harry felt very proud, not only because he had defeated (okay actually Hogwarts walls had knocked the troll out but hey details) a troll but most of all because he had succeeded in protecting his best friend from harm. He had kept his promise and this made him feel really good about himself. Hermione however felt very disappointed about herself, she had been absolutely useless during the fight with the troll, she had frozen in fear and couldn't do anything to help Harry. She had just promised to protect Harry from harm and at the first sign of danger she was of no help. She shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if Harry wasn't there to protect her.
"I'm sorry Harry, I was so afraid that I couldn't move. I guess I'm just not brave enough to fight like you." She said softly.
"Nonsense Hermione, don't worry about it. It's very normal to be scared when being in such a situation." Harry said while smiling at his friend.
"But I didn't do anything to help you. I just sat there when you saved me, I should have helped you fight it." She protested strongly.
"Hermione, being afraid is nothing to be ashamed over, I too was afraid but I was even more afraid that you would get killed or hurt so I just did the first thing that came into my mind." Harry said while holding her hand.
"But where did you learn those spells? I know that they're not in any of my books." Hermione started asking when she remembered the spells Harry used.
"Ah, I read those in a book I bought in Diagon Alley. It's called 'Curses and Spells for the young warrior' and it's got some very good spells that you can use in battle." Harry said hoping she wouldn't inquire any further. Off course that was impossible as this was Hermione who we're talking about.
"Young warrior? Harry, why would you need to learn that kind of magic?" She asked narrowing her eyes making Harry slightly nervous.
"Because I made a promise to become strong and powerful enough to protect those I love." He said seriously.
"A promise? To who?" she fired back at him. Something was going on here and she would find out no matter what it would take.
"I'm sorry Hermione but I can't answer that question. I want too but I can't, not without certain preparations." He said hoping she wouldn't be mad at him for not being able to tell her.
"Preparations? So if you could prepare you would tell me?" she asked slightly disappointed that she couldn't know.
"Actually, it's you who would have to prepare and learn before I can tell you anything. But I warn you right now, it will take a lot of time and effort, probably several months." He warned her.
Hermione just nodded and asked for more information so Harry started explaining that she would have to learn Occlumency so she would be able to protect her mind and their secrets. Off course she was immediately interested in learning such a skill and promised to work hard at it. Still Harry warned her that it took him almost two year before mastering Occlumency but he told her that if she had questions he would help her in any way he could. He told her that he would give her the necessary notes the next day so she could start studying as soon as possible. After that both went to their rooms to get some sleep after a very exciting day and night.
Thank you for reading the chapter. Did you guys like how I dealt with the troll? I just had the picture of a troll sliding down and then hitting the wall in my head all of the sudden and I liked it so much that I decided to use the idea.
The next chapter will be released on June 22th.
See you guys then.