A FOURTH WAND

CHAPTER 4: OF DOGS AND TROLLS

(Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Harry Potter belongs to J. . I do own my OC's, however)

"You became Gryffindor's Seeker?" Damian asked Harry in utter disbelief. "But you're a first year like us! That's not fair!"

Harry gave his friend a cheeky grin, and some of Damian's jealousy faded away. Instead of getting expelled, Harry became a player of Gryffindor's Quidditch Team. Of course he was happy for him, but he simply couldn't help it. Damian wanted to be on the team as well, and he started to wonder if maybe he should fly in front of Professor McGonagall as well. It worked for Harry, didn't it?

Ron wasn't doing much better. His mouth was hanging open, almost asking for a fly to come inside. "Blimey, you must be the youngest House Player in about-"

"-a century." Harry finished for him. "I start training next week, but don't tell anyone. Wood wants to keep it a secret."

Apparently, neither Fred nor George wanted to keep it a secret. They approached Harry and congratulated him for becoming Gryffindor's Seeker. They also told him their jobs as Beaters was to prevent the Bludgers from knocking him out of his broom, and Damian could've sworn Harry's grin started to falter. Damian decided to busy himself with his dinner, smashed potatoes and sausages. He was about to finish his plate when he heard a voice from behind.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

Damian rolled his eyes in annoyance. Of course Malfoy had to show up and ruin the mood.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you." Harry retorted coolly. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles and growled at the Boy-Who-Lived, but even they knew they couldn't possibly hurt Harry in front of the students and the school staff and hope to get away with it.

"Oh please, I could take you on anytime on my own." Malfoy said with a sneer.

"Why don't you prove it, then?" Damian challenged him.

"Very well." Malfoy replied instantly, giving the impression that he had everything planned from the very beginning. "Wizard's duel, tonight. Wands only, no contact. What's the matter, Potter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before?"

"Of course he has." Ron said without missing a beat. "I'm his second."

Damian nodded. "And I'm his third. Who're yours?"

"Crabbe and Goyle. We'll meet you in the Trophy Room at midnight, that's always unlocked." Malfoy then spun around and walked back at the Slytherin table, with Crabbe and Goyle following from behind like a pair of bodyguards.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Harry looked at his two friends with a mix of anxiety and nervousness. "What's a wizard's duel? And what do you mean, you two are my second and third?"

"Well, I think the term 'wizard's duel' is pretty self-explanatory." The brown-haired boy said with an awkward chuckle in an attempt to ease the tension. Needless to say, it failed. "… Right, as for Ron being your second and me being your third, it just means that Ron will take your place if you di… I mean, if you get injured. Likewise, I'll take Ron's place if he gets injured."

"Don't think too much about it." Ron commented casually. "It's not like Malfoy can really hurt you. He'll probably try to send some sparks your way or jinx you, but nothing really serious. We're just first years, after all."

"So what if I wave my wand and nothing happens? What do I do then?"

"Dunno… Maybe you should try to get close to him and punch his nose?" Damian suggested, earning a look of disbelief from Harry and a grin from Ron. "Oi, don't look at me like that! It might work!"

"Excuse me."

The three boys stopped talking and looked at Hermione, who was staring at them with a hard face that could only mean reproach and disappointment.

"What do you want?" Ron questioned with exasperation and rudeness.

"I heard what you three and Malfoy were discussing about, and I couldn't stop myself from coming here-"

"Yeah, I bet she couldn't." Ron whispered into Damian's ear, who was forced to cover his mouth with his hand in order to silence his laughter.

"-and tell you how irresponsible you're behaving. Do you have any idea how many points will Gryffindor loose if you get caught? And trust me, you're bound to be. After what happened in our first flying lesson, it's only because of luck that Harry's still here."

Damian stood up and frowned at Hermione. "That was none of Harry's fault. Malfoy was being a prat and he even stole Neville's Remembrall. Harry was just trying to get it back."

"By doing exactly what Madame Hooch told us not to do." Hermione shot back. "Had it not been for Harry's flying skills, he would've been kicked out of Hogwarts. Is that what you really want, Harry? To get yourself expelled?"

"So we should've just allowed Malfoy to make fun of Harry and bully Neville?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying! But Harry was very careless. He should've told another professor instead of going after Malfoy himself."

Before Damian could argue any further, Ron interrupted his friend with an irritating sigh. "Look, can you just drop it? It really is none of your business." Grabbing both his friend's sleeves, Ron indicated Harry and Damian to follow him, clearly not in the mood to hear Hermione's bickering. "Goodbye." He added nastily. Damian watched how Hermione glared at Ron's back before huffing in frustration and going back to her seat at the table.

Harry, Ron and Damian spent the entire night planning how they were going to defeat Malfoy. Unfortunately, none of them knew any dueling spells because of their inexperience and the library was closed by then, so they couldn't look up for any jinxes that could help them. What was more, they didn't have the time to practice them. They decided they had to show up, hope that Malfoy was nothing but a braggart with a big mouth and somehow win the duel. It wasn't a terrible plan… or so did Damian want to believe.

Damian yawned as his eyes started to blink repeatedly. Maybe it had something to do with the amount of food he ate before going to bed, but he was feeling particularly sleepy that night. He shook his head, telling himself that he couldn't afford to sleep and risk the chance to see Harry show Malfoy who was the better dueler. Besides, if either Crabbe or Goyle decided to intervene, then he would have to as well.

But at the same time, how was he supposed to be of any help if he could barely stay awake? He needed energy in order to help Harry win, and considering how tired he was, he would probably fell asleep on their way to the trophy room. They still had an hour left before they had to go. One hour was more than enough to get some sleep and wake up fully rested. With that in mind, Damian slowly closed his eyes and dozed off. Harry and Ron would wake him up anyway.

Five minutes later, Damian was sleeping like a bear ready to hibernate.

"Harry, we have to go now!" Ron said with a loud whisper. "We'll be late if we don't."

"But what about Damian? He's still asleep!" Harry replied.

"Wake him up, then!"

"I tried, but he's not waking up! I never thought I'd ever see someone who could fell asleep the same way Dudley does."

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whatever. Just let him sleep. If we waste any more time trying to wake him up, Malfoy will think we're not coming. We'll come up with an excuse on our way to the trophy room."

"Are you sure? Isn't Damian gonna be mad when he realizes we went without him?"

"I'm sure he will forgive us one day, let's just go!"

…

Saturday morning, and Damian was feeling like he was in Nirvana. His bedsheets were so warm and comfortable, and his pillow was as soft as the wool of a sheep. Letting out a lazy yawn, Damian got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

For some reason, he felt strange. A small voice in the back of his head was telling him that something wasn't right, that he was missing something. He tried his best to ignore those thoughts and focus on what he and his friends could do during the morning. Maybe he and Harry could go to the Quidditch field and borrow some of the school's flying brooms? Harry needed some practice before he could properly ride a Quidditch-intended broomstick, after all. Damian mentally grinned whenever he thought about Malfoy's face once he saw the broom Harry was riding.

Malfoy… Why was he thinking so much about him? It was early in the morning and it usually took him a while to completely wake up. 'The only thing I remember was Harry and Ron discussing over something last night. We were trying to prepare Harry so he could face Malfoy or something like that… Like a duel… The wizards duel!'

Damian's eyes widened like dinner plates when he remembered what happened yesterday. Malfoy challenged Harry to a wizards duel and he was supposed to be Harry's third. Of course, he had no idea what happened next because he overslept. Damian went back to the bedroom to see if Harry and Ron were still there, but their empty beds indicated that they had already left. Not wasting any more time, he got dressed with the first clothes he could find (a pair of jeans and a homemade sweater) and made his way to the Dining Room.

His hunch was proven correct as both Harry and Ron were eating breakfast together. They seemed tired, but immensely satisfied with themselves at the same time. Damian supposed it had something to do with how they did last night. As soon as they were out of earshot, Damian approached Harry and Ron and demanded some explanations, starting with why didn't they woke him up before meeting with Malfoy and, most importantly, what happened to them during the duel.

Damian found out that Harry and Ron were forced to leave him behind because no matter what they tried, they simply couldn't get him to wake up and their time was limited. Damian thought about it for a minute and supposed he could forgive them this time. Then the interesting part came out. Turns out Malfoy never planned to face Harry in a wizard's duel, but instead attempted to set them up by telling Filch how he overheard two first year students that were planning to have a wizard's duel at midnight.

But what really caught his attention was that, in an unexpected turn of events, Neville and Hermione joined Harry and Ron in their midnight adventure. Neville joined them because he (once again) forgot the password required to enter the Gryffindor Common Room and didn't want to be left alone. Hermione on the other hand, joined them in an attempt to stop the duel as it would only get them bigger troubles. The four first years found themselves running away from the nasty caretaker and his little pet, Mrs. Norris.

During their escape, they accidentally entered the one and only room that was strictly forbidden. More precisely, it was the one and only corridor that Dumbledore warned everybody not to go through. What Damian heard next made his eyes go wide in surprise. Inside the room, there was a giant three-headed dog sleeping like a puppy. Of course, the dog's dream came to an end once the four first years entered the room, and started to bark and growl at Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville. Hermione later pointed out that the dog (if one could call it that) was guarding something, for there was a trapdoor that was covered by one of the beast's giant paw. How Hermione was able to spot a trapdoor when she had a giant three-headed dog growling in front of her was beyond Damian's comprehension.

Nonetheless, the following days were relatively peaceful. Hermione refused to speak with Harry and Ron, who were grateful for her silence more than anything. She was, however, willing to speak with Damian or at least acknowledge his presence. Damian supposed it was due to the fact that he wasn't with Harry and Ron the night they were supposed to meet Malfoy in the Trophy Room. Hermione though Damian at least had an ounce of common sense for not joining his two friends in their little adventure. Of course, she had no idea Damian wasn't with them that night because he fell asleep, and not because he thought there was something wrong with facing a fellow first year in a wizard's duel in the middle of the night. Damian decided it was better to let her think that.

Speaking of Hermione, Damian had a hard time figuring her out. She sure was a bossy know-it-all who had a knack to involve herself in other people's affairs, but aside from that, Damian didn't thought of her as a bad person. Unlike Edmund, she wasn't condescending and she didn't thought she was better than the rest of her classmates, even if she probably was. What was more, she was even willing to help others with their homework (especially Neville) as long as they showed a little respect. All in all, Damian believed he could maybe even befriend Hermione if she was willing to take the time to listen to what he had to say and accept other people's point of view. He wasn't dying to have Hermione's friendship or even her approval, but she was a Gryffindor first year just like him, Harry and Ron. If they were going to spend the next seven years together, they might as well make the most of it.

A week after the dog's incident, Hogwarts students were currently going through their mail. Owls were flying here and there, dropping little packages that consisted in letters, newspapers, boxes, etc. As he waited for Venus to show up, Damian saw a white owl carrying a particularly big object in the shape of a rectangular box. Much to his surprise, that white owl was none other than Hedwig, Harry's very own owl. 'What's Hedwig carrying?'

Hedwig dropped the parcel right in front of Harry, knocking his bacon to the floor. Damian noticed there was a small letter that came with the parcel and told Harry to read it first. This probed to be a wise decision because of what was written inside the letter:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.

It contains your new Nimbus 2000, but I don't want everybody knowing you have got a broomstick or they will all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor McGonagall

"A Nimbus 2000" Ron all but moaned. "I've never even touched one."

Damian wasn't fairing much better than Ron. He knew Harry was going to get a good broomstick, but a Nimbus 2000? That wasn't just a flashy toy that looked good while in the air, that was the same model of broomstick used by professional Quidditch teams. Professor McGonagall was sure putting a lot of faith in Harry.

They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall Malfoy intercepted them, followed by his two loyal companions. He saw the parcel Harry was carrying and pointed at it. "That's a broomstick." Malfoy said as a matter of fact. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter. First years aren't allowed to have them."

"It's not any old broomstick," Ron said as he grinned. "It's a Nimbus 2000. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet 260? Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped viciously. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."

Damian frowned heavily at Malfoy. "Maybe so, but at least Ron isn't a spoiled prat like you. What are you going to do now? Write a letter to your father and ask for a Nimbus 2000 as well?"

"At least my father can afford such a broomstick, Beckwith." Draco sneered at him. "I wouldn't be surprised if your family had to starve for weeks should they buy a Nimbus."

"And what do you know about my family, Malfoy? Instead of buying a broomstick, you should ask your father to buy you some friends."

Draco was about to retort, but then Professor Flitwick appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Nothing going on here, I hope?" he squeaked.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it, by the way?"

"A Nimbus 2000, sir. And really, it's all because of Malfoy that I've got it." The three young boys left the scene with bright smiles on their faces, enjoying the look of confusion in Malfoy's pale face. "Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team..."

"And you believe that's something to be proud of?"

Both Harry and Ron groaned as they identified the voice. They turned around to see Hermione looking at the package in Harry's hand with palpable distaste.

"I though you weren't speaking to us?" Harry asked.

"Please, keep it that way. It was doing us so much good." Ron added.

Damian winced a little when Hermione left with her nose in the air...

Damian could hardly believe Halloween was already here, but the smell of baking pumpkin in the morning left no room for discussion. It amazed him just how fast everything was going. He didn't really missed home his home that much, not because he was unthoughtful, but because he was so busy with his homework and hanging out with Harry and Ron that he didn't have time to much else. The classes were constantly getting more interesting due to the fact that the basics were already dominated and now they were starting to experiment with more advanced stuff.

Case in point, today was Charm class and Professor Flitwick announced that they were going to try the Levitating Charm, otherwise known as Wingardium Leviosa. Professor Flitwick divided the class into pairs to practice. Harry was paired with Seamus Finnigan, Damian was paired with Dean Thomas and Ron was paired with Hermione. And for some reason, Damian simply KNEW things were going to get out of hand for Ron and Hermione.

Once Professor Flitwick instructed every student, shouts of 'Wingardium Leviosa!' filled the classroom. Damian was surprised by how difficult the Levitating Charm actually was. He thought he had the wrist movement down, but apparently he didn't, because the feather in front of him twitched instead of defying the laws of gravity.

By near the end of the class, Damian was able to lift his feather two inches and nothing more. Harry wasn't doing any better. Ron, however, gave up on making his feather go up and started to get frustrated. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Damian heard Ron shout for the hundredth time, waving his wand repeatedly.

"You're saying it wrong." Hermione spoke up. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever!" Ron snarled.

And of course, she did. With a swift flick of her wand and a nice 'Wingardium Leviosa', Hermione's feather started to go up and up until it reached the ceiling.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

…

Ron wasn't in a very good mood after the Charm class, and Damian couldn't really blame him. Hermione had, once again, proven that she was the smartest and the most talented witch of the class. Damian knew how much Ron hated to be proven wrong, especially by Hermione. "She's a nightmare, honestly!" Ron started to say as they pushed their way into a crowded corridor once the class was over. "It's no wonder no one can stand her."

As soon as Ron finished his rant, someone pushed past him. Damian quickly recognized Hermione's long and bushy hair, but was shocked to see her face full of tears. She heard what Ron said about her.

"I think she heard you." Harry commented.

Even Ron seemed a tad bit uncomfortable, but shrugged his shoulders nonetheless. "So? She must've noticed she's got no friends."

For the first time since he entered Hogwarts, Damian thought Ron was out of line. It was true that Hermione could be annoying, bossy and even irritating, but saying that she had no friends (whether it was true or not) and that no one could stand her was going too far in Damian's opinion. He himself wondered if he would make friends at the start of the year, and he was lucky enough to meet Harry and Ron. Maybe Hermione wasn't that lucky. "Ron, don't you think that was too harsh? You made her cry."

"It wasn't my fault! And it's not like I did it on purpose, she just happened to be near me."

"Maybe, but that doesn't make it any better. How would you like it if someone told you no one can stand you and that you've got no friends?" It was as if Ron had just experienced an epiphany. When he received no answer, Damian sighed. "I'm going after her."

"Damian, wait-" Harry tried to reach his friend, but before he or Ron could stop him, Damian was already ahead of them and gone.

Damian was starting to have second thoughts regarding his search for Hermione. He had to skip class so he could find her, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen. He asked the few people he found in the Common Room if they had seen a girl with bushy hair, but he received no helpful answers. Most of the boys laughed and asked him what was a first year student doing out of class. Most girls (all of them in their third year or older) cooed and asked him if Hermione was his girlfriend.

Finally, he overheard Parvati telling Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom. Even though he was happy to know about Hermione's whereabouts, Damian let out a loud groan. The girl's bathroom? Seriously? The girl's bathroom was, undoubtedly, one of the few places Damian would never go on his free will. But this was probably the only chance he had to find Hermione and try to straighten things up.

That was why, during his very first Halloween feast in Hogwarts, Damian found himself approaching the girl's bathroom and praying to Merlin no student, prefect, professor, ghost or caretaker would find him. Otherwise, he could kiss his life at Hogwarts goodbye. Once he made sure no one was watching, Damian quickly entered the bathroom and was immensely relieved to find it empty. Well, almost empty. Sobs and hiccups could be heard inside one of the toilet cabins.

"Hermione?" Damian said as he opened the last cabin door.

"D-Damian! What are you doing here?" Hermione gasped. Damian noticed how puffy and red her eyes were, and from the looks of it, he could tell Hermione had spent a lot of time crying.

"I was worried about you, so I came looking for you. Listen, don't pay attention to what Ron said after Cha-"

Hermione got up the toilet and hugged Damian, who froze on his spot. The only women who had ever hugged him before were his mother and his grandmother. Now, all of the sudden, Hermione had her arms around his neck and her head resting against his chest, sniffling. He had no idea what to do, so he awkwardly hugged her back, making sure to treat her body gently. Damian suddenly remembered he had handkerchief inside his shirt pocket, a present from Diana. Mentally chuckling because he never thought he'd ever use it, Damian took out his handkerchief and offered it to Hermione, who accepted it with a shaky smile and used it to clean her nose.

When Damian believed that Hermione was feeling better, he finally raised his voice. "Hermione, about Ron..." he felt her body tense. "… I told him he was wrong, that he shouldn't have said what he said. But look, the thing is that Ron doesn't hate you. Harry doesn't hate you either, and I certainly don't."

Sniffling, she answered. "I know you three don't hate me, but Ron was... He said that…"

"Ron says lots of things when he's frustrated. It's not easy for him to compete against the rest of his siblings. He has five older brothers, and all of them have set a very high standard. So, when he sees how easy things come to you, I guess he gets a little jealous, but I know him well enough to say that he would never say stuff like that and mean it. At least not to you."

"… Maybe." Hermione conceded. "He's still a little dense when it comes to knowing when to open his mouth, though."

Damian let out a cheesy grin. "Just a little?"

The two of them laughed, and once they calmed down, Hermione regarded Damian with a grateful smile. "Thank you, for everything."

It surprised Damian to see Hermione like that. He had seen Hermione smile a couple of times before, but it was only when she was being congratulated by teachers. This time, her smile was completely different. "Don't mention it. Now, how about we go back to the feast? I'm starving."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "The feast!" she exclaimed as she rushed out of the cabinet. She furiously started cleaning her face with water.

"Hey, don't worry. The feast isn't going anywhere." Damian said.

"No! I'm not going to spend my very first Halloween feast in the bathroom! It's supposed to be really-"

But then, Damian shushed Hermione. For some reason, he could hear footsteps coming their way, and not the ones someone hears from a human being. They were massive. With the giant footsteps came a deep growl, and Damian's face went as white as a paper sheet when he saw the shadow of the monster that appeared out of nowhere.

And Hermione wasn't fairing much better than him. "I-Is that a…"

A troll. An enormous troll was inside the girl's bathroom. And people wondered why boys were so scared of going into the girl's bathroom.

Instinct took over Damian's body. Without thinking, he grabbed Hermione's wrist and ran to the corner of the bathroom, hoping to get as far away as possible from the ugly beast. The troll noticed the two kids and started to make strange, yet intimidating noises as he swung his club left and right, smashing several toilets in the process.

Damian had no idea what to do. There was no way he could defeat a troll by himself. He knew nothing about them, and he didn't have a spell that could hurt or even stun an adult troll. Even if Hermione knew one, she was paralyzed in fear and looked as if she was seconds away from fainting. Maybe he could get past the troll and ask for help if he ran really fast, but that meant leaving Hermione alone.

"Oi, pea-brain!"

Damian and Hermione saw Harry and Ron entering the bathroom, shouting at the troll and throwing metal pipes at him. Damian had no time to ask himself what were his friends doing there, for a voice inside his head assured him that his chances of surviving had just increased now that Harry and Ron where there with him. The school staff probably knew about the troll, and if that was the case, then help was on its way. If Damian and his friends could hold the troll off until the teachers' arrive, then maybe they would live to see another day.

Not knowing what else to do, Damian pulled Hermione over to one side and started throwing whatever he could find lying on the floor at the troll, like metal pipes and pieces of wood. The troll went mad and attempted to charge against Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Harry did the bravest and stupidest thing he had ever done in all of his short life. He climbed to the back of the troll and managed to fasten his arms around its neck. The troll howled in pain when Harry's wand went straight into his right nostril and started searching for the boy behind his back. After many failed attempts, the troll finally caught Harry with his left hand. "Ron, do something!" Damian shouted as he feared for Harry's life, and rightfully so.

With sweaty hands and gulping, Ron waved his wand and tried the first spell he could think of. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Whether it was out of luck or not, it didn't matter. The troll's club was suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high up in the air and dropped inches away from its owner's foot. The beast looked astonished, or as astonished as a troll could be. Damian decided it was his time to contribute. He noticed the water that was coming out of the smashed toilets and remembered a spell he tried on his brother Edmund once: The Trip Jinx.

While the Jinx itself was fairly simple, Damian remembered reading a book where it said it was a lot easier to perform when the target was standing on slippery surface, or in this case, water. If that was true, then this was Damian's only chance. He raised his wand and pointed at the troll's legs. "Moviatur!" (1)

The effect was almost instantaneous. The troll started to move his legs in a funny way until he fell on his back. His skull kissed the watery floor very hard, with a THUD noise that made the whole room tremble.

Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what they had done. Hermione was the first to recover her voice. "Is it… dead?"

"I doubt it." Harry responded "I think it's just been knocked out."

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. Professor McGonagall had entered the bathroom, followed closely by Snape and Quirrell, who whimpered at the sight of the unconscious troll. Damian had never seen Professor McGonagall so angry before. "You three… What on Earth were you thinking of? Why aren't you in your dormitories?"

Damian suddenly remembered he was holding his wand. Professor McGonagall was now looking at him with a look of ire. "I was… Erh, I mean… We were just…"

"Beckwith, if you don't explain to me what was going through your head…"

"Please, Professor McGonagall… they were looking for me. I went looking for the troll."

"Miss Granger!"

The three boys looked back at Hermione, unable to comprehend what was just happening. Was Hermione Granger… telling a downright lie to a teacher? In that moment, Damian understood the weirdest things happened inside the girl's bathroom, and he would never step a foot inside of it ever again if he could help it.

"I went looking for the troll because I… I thought I could deal with it on my own since I've read all about them. If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose, Ron took away its club and Damian finished it. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Harry, Damian and Ron merely stood there, trying to look as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well, in that case... Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own? Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this." Professor McGonagall said. "I'm very, very disappointed with you. Now, if you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their respective Houses."

The Four Gryffindors silently made their way to the exit, but before they left, Professor McGonagall spoke one last time.

"While I still believe it you were lucky, not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this."

In other occasion, Damian would've argued that saving a fellow housemate probably deserved a lot more than just five points, but right now he was just happy he was alive. None of them made a single sound as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. They said the password entered the Common Room. After what they went through, they didn't feel like eating, not even Ron (2). They just wanted to lie on their beds and call it a day. Before parting ways, Hermione said a quick 'Thanks' and hurried off to the girl's dormitory.

One good thing came out of that day, though. Hermione was now their friend. After all, there were some things in life you can't share without ending up liking each other, and Damian was pretty sure knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll was one of them.

… Hello, anyone there?

Sorry for keeping you all waiting. It's been a while since I last updated this story. I guess life happens sometimes. For now, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and expect many more to come.

Also, if you're interested in becoming a beta-reader for this story, PM me and we'll discuss things.

Please Review, Follow and/or Like if you enjoy how the story is going.

Author's note 1: This is not the actual incantation. I know the spell exists (it has been used before in the books), but its true name is not specified. I came up with the word 'Moviatur' after learning the word 'Moveatur', which is Latin for 'make fall'. If I can't find the proper incantation, I will create it myself.

Author's note 2: I'm just putting this out there because we've all seen the movies/read the books and we all know how much Ron likes to eat. In the original scene from the book, they do attend the feast in the Common Room, but I was too tired to continue writing.