Let me know what you think! Things are really starting to change from canon now.

Disclaimer: Not mine! Just borrowing for a while!


Halloween

Over the next few months, Harry and Ron continued to keep watch on the third floor corridor. Harry and Ron made sure to check up on the third floor corridor at least once a day. They even tried to enter once, but the door was locked and neither knew an unlocking spell. They had to be extra careful after Filch caught them wandering around the area on several different occasions. He and Mrs. Norris were determined to catch Harry and Ron in the act. This made it decidedly more difficult to ensure that no one was attempting to steal the mystery package and they had to avoid the corridor for a few weeks until caretaker and cat lost interest. Harry and Ron were stealthier in their endeavors after that. Nothing much happened, but they knew someone was interested in finding the mystery package, and they were determined to help. They spent quite some time trying to figure out what the mystery package could be, but they were both baffled by what could be so small, and so important.

And Ron and Harry still had to deal with Malfoy in their day to day lives. He really was quite the little pest, but they still made sure to mess with Malfoy whenever he go to be too annoying. Slytherin was the battle ground for a power struggle with Harry and Ron on one side, and everyone else on the other. It was an uphill battle, but Harry and Ron were determined to never back down. Malfoy would learn that who his father was, was not going to always allow him to get his way. Crabbe and Goyle attempted to carry out Malfoy's dirty work and tried to corner Harry and Ron on several occasions. Luckily, Crabbe and Goyle were not very bright, so Harry and Ron were able to easily evade them. And when Harry and Ron laughed because Crabbe and Goyle wound up with pink hair, well, no one could connect them to the crime.

Harry was just glad he could, at least, avoid his cousin, which was one less nuisance to worry about.

Harry and Ron found that their hiding in the library did help with their class work. They were not great scholars by any means, but a least they weren't in any sort of danger of failing. Harry enjoyed most of his classes, although Defense Against the Dark Arts was a joke. Potions was quite strange. Snape didn't seem too fond of either Harry or Ron, Harry in particular, but he didn't pick on them the way he did the Gyffindors. He was mostly indifferent to their presence in his class, as long as they sat quietly and worked on their potions.

The day after their first flying lesson, Parvati Patil was back at the Gryffindor table, looking none the worse for wear. She received a narrow looking package, and she and her brown haired friend ran out of the Great Hall, giggling. Malfoy followed them out, no doubt to harass them. Later that evening, Malfoy complained to the whole common room about how instead of expelling Patil, McGonagall had made her seeker of the Gryffindor team. Harry may not have known what a seeker was, but he was ecstatic that Patil had done something that had made Malfoy almost hysterical with envy.

Ron taught Harry more about the Wizarding World, especially about Quidditch. While Harry and Ron didn't have any other friends among their peers, Hagrid always welcomed them for tea, so they went to his hut at least once a week. Life at Hogwarts had become routine, and even though everything wasn't perfect, Harry was happy for the first time in his life.

Before any of them knew it, it was almost Halloween. Charms class was the day before Halloween, and something everyone had been looking forward to, as they were going to learn to make objects levitate. The unwelcome thing about this was that they shared afternoon Charms with the Ravenclaws. For the most part the Ravenclaws were alright, but there were a couple who liked to prove how much smarter they were. Harry also noticed that this air of superiority tended to only come out in the presence of a Slytherin. Stephen Cornfoot and Lisa Turpin were the worst. The desire to see the two of them fall flat on their faces was the one thing that all the first year Slytherins could agree on.

Cornfoot and Turpin made sure to use their most condescending voices when they made their feathers float before any of the Slytherins. Throughout the rest of the lesson, they both made snide remarks about the wand work and pronunciation of the Slytherins, without bothering to help at all. The Slytherins were incredibly frustrated by the time Flitwick dismissed them.

Parkinson spoke up the moment she crossed the threshold of the classroom, "Those Ravenclaws think that they're so smart. If only they had actual personalities."

"At least our heads aren't full of rocks," Turpin countered.

Malfoy sneered, "As if anyone wants to associate with a bunch of bookworms."

"You're just jealous because too boring to hang out with anyone interesting. You do have your dusty books at least," Ron joined in. Harry couldn't help but share the feeling. Cornfoot and Turpin were two of the most stuck up people Harry had ever had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting.

"Come on, Lisa. We shouldn't stoop to their level. After all, snakes are so low they have to crawl on their bellies," Cornfoot grabbed Turpin's sleeve, pulling her after the other Ravenclaws, who hadn't bothered to stick around for the confrontation.

"Thank goodness you don't come to the dungeons too often. Not sure we could fit your big egos," Harry got off a parting shot as they rounded the corner. The Slytherins smiled at each other before remembering that they didn't like one another.

"Weasel, Potter," Malfoy jeered.

"Malfoy, Parkinson," Harry replied in the same tone. Ron, Harry, Malfoy, and Parkinson exchanged awkward looks before each duo headed off in different directions.

"I can't believe that we joined forces with Malfoy and Parkinson. Even if was for only a few minutes," Ron complained. Harry merely nodded, still unable to wrap his head around their temporary truce. "We are never doing that again."

That evening and the next day were tense, as none of the first year Slytherins knew how to act around one another. Malfoy, Parkinson, Harry, and Ron avoided eye contact and speech whenever they were all in the same room. The rest of the Slytherins did their best to blend in with the walls, trying their best to remain neutral.

The decorations for the Halloween feast distracted everyone from the delicate ceasefire. There were a thousand live bats, and floating jack-o-lanterns. The plates on the tables were the same golden ones that had been present at the Welcoming Feast.

Harry had barely started to eat, when Professor Quirrell came running into the Great Hall, his turban askew and his face full of terror. He sprinted straight up to the teacher's table and proclaimed, "Troll! Troll in the dungeons-thought you ought to know." Then he fainted.

The Great Hall was filled with the uproar of a thousand panicking students, who only hushed when Dumbledore stood and yelled, "Quiet! Now I want the prefects to lead their houses back to the dormitories. The teachers will head down to the dungeons to deal with this matter."

Cynthia, Derek and Peter were working together with the other three Slytherin prefects to herd their house to the dormitories. "Come along. Everyone stick together! Come along."

As they were being jostled by the crowd, Harry speculated, "How could a troll get in?"

"Not sure. They're notorious for being really stupid, so I doubt it got in on its own," Ron answered. "Maybe Peeves let it in as a joke."

Harry frowned, "Maybe." Harry wasn't sure why, perhaps because he had gotten into the habit of thinking about it at least once a day, but his mind strayed to the mystery package on the third floor corridor. That the teachers were heading away from. And that someone desperately wanted to steal. Harry grabbed Ron's sleeve, "The package!"

Ron's brow furrowed, "What about it?"

"What if someone let the troll in to cause a distraction, so they could steal it?"

"I don't know, Harry. Do you really think someone would be that bold?"

"They were bold enough to break into Gringott's. Why wouldn't they do something like this? Besides, didn't we say we were going to help protect whatever is there?"

Ron bit his lip, looking over his shoulder at the retreating Slytherins, before turning back to Harry, "Alright. Let's go." It was easy to slip away in the chaos. Harry and Ron ran up to the third floor and hid in a classroom a few doors down from the locked room that hid the mystery package. They kept the door slightly ajar so they could see anyone who tried to approach. Ron and Harry only had to wait a few minutes before they heard footsteps.

And Professor Snape came down the hall.

Harry and Ron watched with baited breath as Snape went up to the door that led to the forbidden corridor. He tapped his wand to lock, muttered something, and then entered the corridor. He was only in there for a brief moment before there was a loud barking and growling sound from behind the door. Snape came barreling out of the corridor, landing on his back and sending out some sort of blasting spell that slammed the door shut. Snape lay there, breathing heavily, before standing up and limping away. As he passed the room where they were hiding, Harry and Ron could see blood running down Snape's leg.

Once Snape was out of earshot, the duo let out the breaths they had been holding. Standing up Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Ron put his hand over Harry's mouth and signaled for quiet. Harry complied, and that's when he heard the noise that Ron had. Someone was coming back down the hall. It couldn't be Snape, the person wasn't limping. Harry and Ron looked back out in the hall, just in time to see Quirrell reach the locked door.

Quirrell began to speak to himself, "It looks as if Severus is on to us my lord. We shall have to be more wary of him in the future. He shall not stop us from acquiring the stone." Harry was shocked. Quirrell wasn't stuttering at all, and he was the one wanting to steal the mystery package! Snape must have come to check on it, just like Harry and Ron.

Suddenly there was a cold voice that echoed through the hall, "And, what of the obstacle that Severus encountered?" Harry's hand flew to his scar, which had begun prickling when the creepy voice started speaking.

"I am unsure of how to get passed. It is a beast of Hagrid's. I will work on obtaining the information necessary to proceed." Quirrell whirled around and strode back down the hall.

Harry and Ron waited for some time, to see if anyone else would enter the hall. Once they believed it was safe, Harry spoke up, "So Quirrell wants the stone, whatever the stone is. And Snape is trying to stop him."

"Yeah. And Quirrell is going to try and use Hagrid to get pass some sort of beast," Ron frowned, "Who do you reckon Quirrell was talking to?"

"I don't know, but he must have some sort of communication device. He's trying to steal the stone for someone."

"What should we do?"

"We should tell Dumbledore. He should know that one of his teachers is trying to steal from him." Harry and Ron set out find Dumbledore, but they ran into Professor McGonagall first.

"What on earth are you two doing here? You should both be in your dormitories," McGonagall exclaimed.

"Professor, we saw Quirrell, he was trying to break into the third floor corridor," Harry explained.

"That is ridiculous. Professor Quirrell is a respected member of this staff. Are you sure you are not making up stories to avoid getting into trouble?" Harry and Ron protested that they weren't. "Very well. What proof do you have to back up your story?" Harry and Ron were stumped at this, having nothing to show that Quirrell had actually been trying to break-in anywhere. "That's what I thought. Now come with me. We will have to speak with your head of house about the proper punishment for wandering around the castle during a crisis. What were you hoping to accomplish? Did you honestly think two first years could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale?"

As Harry and Ron were brought to Snape, they found out that the troll had been found on a lower floor of the castle, and Flitwick had managed to subdue the beast by using a levitating charm on its club.

The trio found Snape with the other teachers, who were surrounding a large, smelly troll. Harry felt self-conscious as all eyes turned to him and Ron. "Professor Snape, I found these two wandering the halls. I thought it best to let you decide their punishment."

Snape curled his lip at his wayward students, "Were they now? If you two will follow me." Snape led them to the dungeons, limping all the while. Once they were in his office, Snape sat down behind his desk and turned his cold glare on the boys, "I want you both to know that I do not tolerate those who attempt to disgrace my house. Although I can't say that I'm surprised that you would do something so stupid, Potter. Now on to the matter of your punishment…"

"We saw Quirrell trying to get in the third floor corridor after you left," Ron blurted out.

Snape stared at him dumbfounded.

"It's true. He was there and he was talking to someone about getting pass a beast to steal the stone," Harry added.

This seemed to revitalize Snape, "You know about the stone?"

"Well, not exactly. We don't know what it is, only that Quirrell wants it," Harry just realized something, "He was in Diagon Alley the day that Gringott's was broken into."

Snape was quiet for a moment, "You two will speak of this to no one. It is best that Quirrell is unaware that either of you know anything. You will both drop this business about the stone and carry on with your school work, just as every other student is doing. You have both lost ten points each for being reckless fools. Now go back to your dormitory, I don't want to hear of any more trouble from either of you," Snape dismissed.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances before leaving the room. "Is that all? Are we going to drop it?" Ron asked once they were outside.

"We'll keep mostly out of it, but we should warn Hagrid that Quirrell wants information about whatever is guarding the stone. And we'll still keep an eye on Quirrell. It doesn't matter what Snape says, if he's the only one who knows about Quirrell, he'll need some help. We just can't let either of them find out what we're doing."


I hope everyone likes the direction I went with the Ravenclaws. I know that the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were always portrayed as nice in the books, but really, you didn't get to see much of anyone from those houses unless they were important to the plot and were brought in out of nowhere. I'm trying to show more of the different houses, and how prejudice can affect the story. It looks like Ron, Harry, Pansy, and Draco have finally found some common ground, so I hope that was good.

Please continue to review!