I don't own HP. Wish I did, but I don't.
AN: WOW! Huge thanks to my amazing betas! They only got this chapter late Thursday night (Thank you Irma) but Saint Dionysus, Julist, and Ladybear92 all managed to beta read it by Friday night. Ya'll are the best!
oXoXoXo
The rest of September slipped by with a soft sigh, nothing at all like that first week. Life at Hogwarts slipped into a pleasant routine. His weekdays were filled with classes and all the work they brought along; while his weekends were spent with Ron and their fellow Hufflepuffs. Ron flatly refused to spend time with Harry as long as Tracy Davis was around. And as Harry, Davis, and Hermione appeared to be as inseparable as Ron and Draco, that meant never. Draco's only interaction with the Slytherin was a quick thank you one morning at breakfast. Apparently, his mother had written Harry and explained about Professor Snape.
Draco felt rather sad about this, but couldn't really fault his red-haired friend.
There was one slight change that occurred during the second week of school, on Friday.
Neville Longbottom came racing into Herbology, red-faced and breathing heavily. His robes were disheveled and even torn in a few places. Professor Sprout stopped mid-sentence and looked up at the chubby Gryffindor in concern, "Are you alright, Mr. Longbottom?"
Neville mutely nodded and glanced around quickly, mild panic in his eyes. Usually, he sat at a table with the other two Gryffindor boys up near the front of the greenhouse. Obviously, he thought this was too far to go as he stumbled over to the closest empty stool. It just so happened that said stool was at Ron and Draco's table.
The two Hufflepuffs shot the other boy concerned looks, but said nothing while Professor Sprout deducted ten points from Gryffindor for tardiness and then proceeded giving instructions.
Later, as they got to work on repotting dancing daisies, Ron spoke. "What happened, mate? Did your cauldron explode in Potions?"
Neville shook his head, looking miserable. "No, Potions wasn't so bad. But after I bumped into Crabbe and Goyle. They took offense."
Draco winced, Crabbe and Goyle may be lacking in brains, but they more than made up for it in brawn. No wonder none of the damage done to Neville looked to be magical.
The three of them slipped in companionable silence and continued their work. Dancing daisies weren't dangerous, but repotting them was difficult as their roots never stopped moving. Later, after cleaning up, Draco noticed that all of the Gryffindors had disappeared. Not a single one of them had stopped to see if Neville was alright.
This was made all the more obvious when Hannah, Justin, and Zach stopped by to check on Neville before heading to the Great Hall for lunch.
As they left the greenhouse, Ron was rambling on about the most annoying plants out there, with Neville offering some suggestions.
Draco wasn't really paying attention to them as an idea was forming in his head. His palms grew sweaty and he had to focus on controlling his breathing as the three of them stepped into the Great Hall. When Neville turned away to go to the Gryffindor table, Draco managed to get out the words he'd been running over in his head during the walk."Neville — um — do you want to join us? For lunch? At the Hufflepuff table?"
The Gryffindor boy froze, half turned away from Ron and Draco, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Wh—What?"
Ron grinned cheerfully and slapped a hand down on Neville's shoulder, "Do ya wanna join us?"
"For lunch?" Draco repeated.
"Is that allowed?" Neville asked.
Draco nodded as Ron said, "Of course. My brother, Charlie, used to join Tonks at the Hufflepuff table all the time."
Neville nodded slowly, "Uh, sure, I'd like that."
"Good," Ron said with a grin.
Draco grinned as well, feeling more relaxed now that he'd gotten the asking over with.
Neville continued to join them regularly for meals. Draco quite often got the feeling that Neville had had a very lonesome childhood. Rather like Draco's own before Dora had appeared in his life. In the beginning, Ernie protested a Gryffindor sitting so regularly at their table, but gave up after a few days when he realized that his fellow housemates were ignoring him. Everyone else got on well with Neville and so had no issue with him joining them. They even took to playing Exploding Snap or other card games in the Great Hall on Saturday afternoons so that Neville could join them.
Before Draco knew it, September was over, and October had begun. The leaves changed and fell, making the world outside the castle much colder and harsher than anything Draco had ever seen before. Sunrise came later and later, making Ron happier, but Draco began setting the old alarm clock his mother had made him bring.
He rather liked having lots of time in the morning, though it was rather discouraging to wake up when the ceiling was as pitch black as it had been when he fell asleep.
Before Draco knew it, October was over.
The Halloween Feast was a spectacle. Between the decorations and the wide variety of treats, it outdid anything Draco had ever seen before.
"This is amazing!" Justin exclaimed when they entered the Great Hall.
"Of course it's amazing," Su Li said as she passed them on the way to Ravenclaw table, "Professor Flitwick did all of the charms."
Justin and Ron made faces at the Ravenclaw girl's back, and Zach opened his mouth to say something that was likely insulting, but Hannah clamped a hand over his mouth and, with Draco's help, dragged their pompous friend to the Hufflepuff table. Purposefully seating him, so he was facing away from the Ravenclaw table. Snape had made Li and Zach work together on a potion the week before, and it had not ended well.
Once he had helped Hannah get Zach seated, he took his own seat at the end of the table, closest to the teachers. Ron, Neville, and Justin sat down on the other side of the table and eagerly poured themselves some pumpkin juice. A thousand live bats swooped down over the Hufflepuff table just as the food appeared suddenly on the golden plates.
Draco dug in.
He was in the middle of putting butter on his baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall. The professor's turban was askew, and his face was awash with terror.
The hall grew quiet, and everyone stared as Quirrell reached Professor Dumbledore's chair. He was mere feet from Draco when he collapsed against the table and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."
He then sank to the floor, his head landing but a foot from Draco's feet, and fainted.
The entire hall erupted into shouts and yells. Everyone around him jumped up. The bench shifted as Zach lept to his feet, but Draco couldn't see anything. His eyes focused on the professor's purple turban, but he didn't really see it. His heart pounded in his chest and his breathing began to accelerate.
He'd never before realized just how noisy the entire school could be.
BANG!
Draco jumped about a foot in the air, slamming his knees into the underside of the table. Making him gasp in pain as firecrackers exploded from Dumbledore's wand.
"Prefects," the headmaster rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"
"But the troll is in the dungeon!" This came from a familiar high-pitched voice over at the Slytherin table.
Draco managed to look up, eyes ignoring all of the Ravenclaws between him and Hermione Granger. Even from such a distance, he could see panic in her eyes. Panic that mirrored his own.
It was comforting. Seeing his own feelings mirrored on someone else.
He took a shaky breath and stared at the muggle-born girl, continuing to take deep, calming breaths as Dumbledore amended his instructions. The Slytherins were now headed to the infirmary. Like the common rooms, it only had one entrance.
"You alright, mate?" Ron's voice, accompanied by a firm hand on his shoulder made Draco blink and look away from Hermione.
"Yeah. I think so."
"Hufflepuffs! Follow me!" their seventh-year prefect called out.
Draco turned with Ron to leave the Great Hall, but then froze. He frowned, looking down at the stone floor for a moment. He knew something was off but he couldn't —
Wait. Where was Quirrell?
Where the professor had fainted was now empty. Ron was now standing in the exact same place where the turban-clad head had rested.
Looking up, his eyes scanned the hall. Students were filing out of the room behind the prefects. The teachers were long gone. Likely to find the troll.
"Draco?" Ron asked.
There.
A flash of purple just before the small side door closed. The one that led to the room they had all waited in before being sorted just two months before.
"Professor Quirrell just got up and left that way," Draco said, pointing. "Why?"
"Does it matter?"
"I don't know."
"Oi! Weasley! Malfoy! Let's go!" Diggory called out from near the doors to the hall.
Putting Quirrell's behavior out of his mind, Draco hurried with Ron to catch up with their housemates. Likely their professor had left with Madam Pomfrey or another teacher for healing. It was the only thing that made sense.
oXoXoXo
Little crescent shapes decorated Hermione's palms when she finally unclenched her hands halfway to the Hospital Wing.
How did a troll get in Hogwarts? It was supposed to be the safest place in the magical world!
"What's he doing?" Harry hissed, grabbing on to Hermione and Tracey's robes, pulling them to a standstill.
The other Slytherins continued walking, Pansy and Daphne shot Hermione a nasty look as they passed, but she ignored them as she had for the past two months. If they weren't careful, their faces would freeze in that position.
She followed Harry's finger and caught a glimpse of purple just before it disappeared around a corner.
"Who is that?" Hermione asked.
"Didn't you see the turban," Tracey hissed, "it was Quirrell!"
"But didn't he faint in the Great Hall?" Hermione said with a frown. "Maybe he's going to the infirmary?"
"No, the infirmary is in the opposite direction," Harry said. "I think there are stairs over there to the third floor."
"Isn't the third floor forbidden?" Tracey asked.
Hermione nodded, "Yes. Dumbledore told us that at the start-of-term banquet. Something about there being a most painful death."
"Then why is Quirrell going there?" Harry wondered, taking a step away from the hospital wing. "Maybe we should follow him."
"Harry! We have to go the Hospital Wing! There's a troll!"
"Shush, Hermione. Harry's right. We can just take a peek up the stairs and then run and get help. Maybe Quirrell let the troll in. It would be a very good distraction," Tracey mused.
Hermione gulped and looked around for help, and then immediately panicked when she saw they were the only students still in that part of the corridor. Tracey and Harry began hurrying towards the corner Quirrell had disappeared around.
She panicked and ran after them, grabbing onto their robes. "No! You can't do this! We'll get in trouble! There's a—"
She was cut off abruptly as a low grunt followed by shuffling footfalls came from behind her. Mere seconds later a foul stench swept through the air. Terrified, her fingers went slack, and she turned around.
There, standing at the top of the stairs was what had to be the troll. It was truly a horrendous sight. The troll had a body that resembled a large boulder with limbs and a small, bald head on top.
She screamed.
Tracey's hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her scream, but it was too late. The troll turned, its dim eyes focusing on Hermione. Moving forward it raised its club, banging it into a set of armor as it approached.
"RUN!" Harry shouted.
When Hermione found herself unable to move her arms were grabbed by Harry and Tracey, they pulled her behind them until she found the ability to stand on her own feet. They raced around the corner and ran smack into an invisible wall covering the bottom of the staircase. There was nowhere else to go as this was the end of the corridor.
She panicked and screamed again, terror filling her. There was nowhere else to run.
"Spread out!" Tracey shouted, shoving Hermione away from her in one direction while Harry went in another.
"Oy! Over here!" Harry shouted, yanked up a piece of the armor that had been scattered throughout the corridor and threw it at the troll's head.
The troll didn't even notice it. It continued moving forwards, now heading for Tracey. Harry and Hermione were behind the troll.
"Hermione! Run and get help!" Harry shouted, grabbing another piece of armor and lobbing it at the troll.
But she was unable to move. Her feet were locked in place, and her entire body was shaking in fear.
Tracey let out a yell and threw herself to the side, narrowly missing being squashed by the troll's club. Seeing this Harry did something that was incredibly stupid. So stupid it managed to pierce Hermione's fear enough to make her take a step back.
Harry ran forwards, leaping into the air and climbing up the troll's back like one might climb a mountain. He jammed his wand up the troll's nose.
The troll howled with pain and began throwing itself around, trying to get Harry off of its shoulders.
Tracey tried to use the distraction to run around the troll, but it was at this point that it managed to give its head an extremely rough shake, and threw Harry off.
He landed on top of Tracey, and the two of them were tangled up on the floor as the troll raised its club high in the air once more, aiming at the two of them.
Tracey looked up in fear at the descending club and screamed, "HERMIONE! DO SOMETHING!"
Hermione's heart lurched at the sight, and she scrambled for her wand, she almost dropped it twice, but she managed to raise it up.
There she froze. Unable to think of a single spell to cast.
"HERMIONE!" Harry and Tracey screamed together, trying to scramble out of the way.
"CAST—" Tracey started, but abruptly stopped as Harry's elbow rammed into her stomach.
Her mind was blank, but her arm started to move. Forming the motions to the last spell she had cast. A swish and then a flick. Her mouth moved and formed words she wasn't even sure she had remembered a second ago.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The troll's arm descended, but its club stayed in the air, hovering there above Tracey and Harry. It took a moment, but the troll realized that its hand was empty. It stopped and looked around rather stupidly as Harry and Tracey managed to scramble out from under the club.
Hermione slowly raised her wand and moved it, the club following along. She was sweating by the time she got the club positioned over the very confused troll.
CRACK!
The club landed on the troll's bald head. The troll swayed on his feet before falling to the ground with a loud thud.
The relief that rushed through Hermione proved to be too much. She swayed on her own feet before following the troll to the ground, letting blackness overtake her.
Author's Note: I'm currently in the mountains of North Carolina visiting my grandfather and so we lost power this week for about 24 hours due to Irma. Not as bad as the people in my home state, but pretty bad for a town so far from the coast and about 4k feet above sea level. That's why my betas only got this chapter 24 hours before ya'll did.
If anyone's interested, I not only have a tumblr under the name Enigmaticrose4, but I also have a Facebook page now if you're interested.
