Sorry for the short chapter and the long wait, but I have been growing increasingly lazier over break. I'm not done with the next chapter yet, so it could be anywhere from a week to a month until its put up (but hopefully its shorter). I know there's really no excuse for my new found laziness, but I'm trying to power through the rest of first year so we can get to the really fun stuff (like problems at camp, Annie's first crush/boyfriend, a certain new student who can see through the mist, etc.), but all that stuffs a couple chapters off, but I think its starting to get interesting now in first year. Ok, so I think I've rambled for long enough, ENJOY!
Chapter 9: Troll Bogies
"What do you think that was?" Harry whispered to Ron and I as we sat in the Great Hall the next day.
Ron shrugged his shoulders, but I knew. Or, I kind of knew. I was still confused as to why my arrow, which is supposed to kill any monster, couldn't harm this one. "Have you ever heard of Cerberus?"
My question was met by blank stares, but Hermione (who had just joined us), nodded. "He's the dog that guards the underworld in Greek myths." She said.
"Of course you would know, Hermione." Ron said, stabbing his eggs furiously. Hermione ignored him.
"But she's right Ron. That's what the dog was like. Didn't you notice with the three heads and everything. But as far as I know, there's only one and he never leaves the underworld."
"You talk about the thing like its real? Those are all just myths, right?" Hermione said.
Vlacas, I thought to myself. I was being so stupid! Why was I so reckless about these things? "Yeah, just myths."
"But that dog was defiantly real, and you're right about the dog, they were very similar. But that's not the important thing. Didn't you notice that the dog was standing on something?" Hermione asked looking between the three of us.
"How do you know it was standing on something?" Ron asked.
"Because Ronald." Hermione said with an eye roll. "I use my eyes. Anyway, it was guarding something."
"How do you know?" Harry asked, finally speaking up.
"Well, nobody puts a murderous dog in the middle of a school without a reason, do they? And it was standing on a door in the middle of the floor. It must be something valuable if Professor Dumbledore went to such lengths to keep it guarded."
" I think I know what its guarding." Harry said seriously.
"How would you know?" I asked.
"Well, when I went to Diagon Alley, Hagrid took something out of a vault. He said it was important Hogwarts business. Somebody tried to break into the same vault shortly after that. Somebody's after what was in that vault."
I was about to say something else when a rush over our heads told us that the owls had just arrived with today's post. Harry looked absolutely shocked when a large parcel was dropped in front of him. "What is it?" I asked him quickly. I was curious as to who had sent him the mail. As far as I knew, he didn't know anybody who would send him mail, besides his aunt and uncle that is. And from what he told me, they weren't the most pleasant people in the world and they absolutely hated him.
"I don't know. But there's a note." He told me.
"Well read it!" Ron demanded, leaning into me so he could get a closer look at Harry's package.
"Okay. Well it says,
DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o' clock for your first training session.
Professor M. McGonagall.
Ron and I immediately looked up at the Heat Table where Professor McGonagall was looking at us contently as she stroked a large tawny owl, the same owl that had delivered Harry's broomstick.
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one!"
I said a quick good bye to Hermione and Harry, Ron, and I left the Great Hall so that we could open the package. We hadn't even made it across the Entrance Hall before Harry broke down and gave into his curiosity. Inside was a very nice looking broom with a polished handle and neat bristles on the bottom. At the very tip were the words Nimbus Two Thousand.
Ron was looking at it in wide eyed wonder, and even I had to let out a low whistle. "Awesome…"
"What are you still doing here Potter? Enjoying your last day at Hogwarts?" came a loud, drawling voice. Great, now Draco Malfoy was here. The git.
"We weren't expelled Malfoy." Ron snarled.
Draco ignored him, instead grabbing the broom out of Harry's hands. "Got yourself a broom stick Potter?" He said, trying to sound mean and menacing, but he couldn't hide the jealousy in his voice.
"That's not any old broomstick. That's a Nimbus Two Thousand." Ron said proudly. "What do you have at home Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry and I. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as a Nimbus."
Malfoy turned beat red. "What would you know Weasley? You can't even afford half the handle. I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." Ron looked like he was ready to jump Draco, but Professor Flitwick had just walked by.
"Not arguing, I hope." He said as he came over to us.
"Professor, Potter's been sent a broom stick!" Draco said, pointing to the Nimbus in Harry's hands. What a tattle tale.
"Oh yes. Minerva's told me all about your special circumstances Mr. Potter. And what model is it?"
"It's a Nimbus Two Thousand, sir." Harry said. I glanced over at Malfoy who looked completely horrified at the exchange happening. "But it's really thanks to Draco that I got it in the first place." He added. Malfoy's face turned a color that didn't look exactly human and stormed off into the other direction.
"Ah yes. Well good day boys, and Miss Greymann." Professor Flitwick said and he too walked off.
"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron said as we started to make our way back to the common room. "Did you see the look on his face?"
" I know!" I said smilingly, and I climbed back into the portrait hole.
"Hiya Harry. We were told that you got a-"
"new broomstick. Wood says –"
"It's a Nimbus Two Thousand." I looked back and forth between Fred and George, trying to decide why they though it necessary to talk like that. Our heads bounced back and forth between the two of them like we were watching a tennis match, but a much more annoying one.
"Yeah, it is." Harry said, showing Fred and George his new broom proudly.
"Wicked." They breathed together.
"You should've seen Malfoy's face when he saw it!" Ron said happily to his brothers.
"You mean that obnoxious first year?" George asked.
"Yeah him."
"Well good, he probably deserves it. So anyway, we heard you guys got in a bit of trouble last night." Fred said.
"How do you know?" I asked accusingly.
"We have our ways." George said. "Almost caught by Filch?"
"Yeah, something like that." Harry told them.
"Lucky we didn't. I don't really need another detention." I muttered.
"How many do you have?" Fred asked. "One?"
"Three."
"Bloody hell! It's only the first week of school. I think she might have broken our record Fred!" George said. "Do you always get in this much trouble?"
"No. I usually don't get caught."
George grinned. "Nice."
"Yeah, I guess. I have to go. I haven't even started my Potion's essay." And then I rushed up the stairs and out of their way. Ugh, Fred and George had a way of always showing up and ruining my good mood. They're nice enough I guess, but then I remember that prank they played on me my first night here and I immediately forget every nice or funny thing they've said since and continue to not like them. That prank was so humiliating and I don't forgive things like that easily.
After rushing through my entire potions essay, I left the dormitory to go look for either Ron or Hermione, because I knew that Harry was having his first quidditch practice right now. After searching the castle for about thirty minutes and an unfortunate run in with Peeves, I seriously contemplated going down to the Quidditch pitch to cheer him on. No, I decided, he had enough pressure right now without having to worry about looking like a fool in front of me. I had just settled down on the couch in front of the fireplace that resided in the Gryffindor Common Room, already thinking about subjecting myself to a boring afternoon, when my last conversation with Madame Pomfrey came back into my head. She had said that I was welcome to help out in the Hospital Wing whenever I wanted.
It's not that I didn't want to help, because from what I saw when I was there last time, the Hogwarts Hospital Wing could desperately use some. The thing was, going to the Hospital Wing and helping Madame Pomfrey out meant putting myself out there and making me vulnerable to exposure. I knew what happened to mortals when they were thrown in to the world of Camp Half Blood, and I don't think anybody deserves a fate like that. But if I didn't do any of the magic finger glowing medical miracle stuff…
I got off the couch before I could think of another argument to stay behind. If I didn't go, I was bound to have one of the most boring afternoons in the history of afternoons. That was reason enough to go. My ADHD just couldn't take sitting around for long periods of times.
It didn't take me all that long to get to the Hospital Wing. I knew the way, for the most part. Well, I knew what floor it was on, and that was good enough for me. After only getting lost once, and ten minutes of hoping I was on the right path, I made it to the Hospital Wing. I noticed the beds weren't as full as they were last time, but that didn't mean that there weren't a considerable amount of students still occupying them.
Madam Pomfrey was bustling around from bed to bed, distributing some medicine here, pointing her wand at a wrist there. Her ways of fixing injuries was so much different than the way we healed things at camp. I had just decided to walk out and pretend that my trip had never happened before I faced being discovered, when Madam Pomfrey saw me. "Oh hello dear! Annie isn't it? Decided to take on my offer, did you? Well good. Merlin knows I could use your help. Go check on Mr. Roger Davies over there. He tripped over a stool in potions!"
I barely had time to nod to show that I understood, when the woman had thrust me over to a bed near the back of the wing. Hades, could that lady talk. She hadn't even let me get a word in!
Roger Davies was sitting up in his bed and clutching his wrist, trying not to look like it hurt too much in front of the other students. He was a decent looking boy of about fourteen, with dark wavy hair and brown eyes. I blushed despite myself, I wasn't here to boy shop, there was no reason to notice their appearance in that way. "Who are you?" He asked, rather bluntly.
"I'm Annie. I'm helping out here." I told him, slightly snappy. "Is it your wrist that's bothering you?"
"You're only a first year." He said, wrinkling up his nose. "You wouldn't know how to fix it."
I tried to ignore the jibe and continued as if nothing had happened. "So it is your wrist then, give it here." He complied grudgingly and I grabbed hold of his arm. "Now look away." There was no reason for him to see what I was about to do. It was bad enough that both Neville and Madam Pomfrey had seen me do this, there was no reason to add another one.
"Why?"
"Because I said so. Just do it."
"Well how do I know you're not going to just break it more, or worse?" He asked, trying to yank his wrist out of my grasp.
"Because I'm only a first year." I said rather icily. I was not liking this boy very much. "I wouldn't dare hurt another student, even if I could. Now just do as I say." He wrinkled his nose even more, making him look like he had just eaten something really sour. Nope, he definitely wasn't attractive now. But he closed his eyes and turned his face in the other direction. I touched his wrist gingerly and muttered the familiar words and his wrist snapped back into place.
"Are you done yet?" He asked, turning back around,
"Yes. You can go I guess, unless you have some other injury you need me to fix."
He gave me a look, which I thought was entirely unnecessary. "No. I'm good. See you later Firstie."
I sat there awkwardly, not really knowing what I should do next. Madam Pomfrey was busy tending to some pale looking Slytherin, but there were still a lot of others. So I moved over to the next bed and plastered a smile on my face, something I had seen nurses do plenty of times at the hospital. "Hey, I'm Annie. And you are?"
It was a girl who looked much, much older than me. Probably a seventh year. Her black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she was hiding her wrist under the sheets. "Natalie. Are you helping Madam Pomfrey out or something?"
"Yeah, something like that. What's bothering you?"
She pulled her wrist out of the sheet to reveal a scaly red clawed hand. "Potions accident." She explained. Oh. Well I didn't really think that my powers extended to magical maladies such as this one. But I wasn't one to look like an idiot. And luckily, Apollo wasn't either. For some reason, which I later realized was probably my father helping out, I knew exactly what to do. I crossed the room to a shelf by the window and grabbed a bottle of Essence of Murtlap.
"Here." I told her as I handed her a small cup full. "This should help the scales and claws. But it might still be a little red for a while."
She took the cup gratefully. "I can trust you right? This won't make me sprout a tail to match?"
I giggled at her joke. "Of course not, but it won't taste pleasant."
She wrinkled her nose and nearly gagged. "You're right." She shuddered. "I'll try my hardest not to come back for that anymore."
"Well I hope you don't have to as well."
"Thanks. Are you going to be up here during the feast tomorrow?" Natalie asked as I walked her to the door.
"Feast? Oh, you mean for Halloween. No I wouldn't miss it."
"Good, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself if I missed the Hogwarts Halloween Feast my first year. It's one of my favorite parts of the year."
"Well maybe I'll see you there."
"Yeah. See you around." She said and then she turned out of the Hospital Wing and disappeared down another corridor.
"How did you know to use Essence of Murtlap?" Madam Pomfrey asked, holding up the familiar crystal bottle.
I jumped a little at the sound of her voice. I hadn't really expected her to be watching. But then again, what had I expected? Of course she wouldn't leave me to take care of her patients completely unwatched. "I… read about it… in a book."
"That seems to be your excuse for just about everything, doesn't it? No matter, you're quite the natural at this, aren't you?"
I blushed gratefully. "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey."
"No, I mean it. Come back next Saturday if you're not too busy. But you can be done for today. I think I have it all under control now."
"I'll do that, come back next Saturday I mean."
"Good. I'll see you then Annie."
I had surprisingly enjoyed working in the Hospital Wing. Well, that is after I had finished treating Roger Davies. But Natalie had been nice enough. It was nice to find something that I was really good at here. I was smiling widely as I walked into the common room, and I almost immediately saw Harry and Ron sitting by the window.
"Hey guys!" I greeted cheerfully.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Oh, well I was helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. It was actually really fun." I added to ease their weary faces.
"Fun. Quidditch went great!" Harry said happily.
"Great. Are you any good?"
"I don't know. Oliver seemed happy enough, but I haven't seen any other players so I wouldn't know." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm sure you're great. I have to go back up to my dormitory. My clothes smell like hospital."
…
"..now swish and flick, just like that!" Professor Flitwick said as he demonstrated the motion with his wand. Harry, who was sitting beside me, followed immediately. But it took me a couple of minutes to snap out of my daydream and return to the world of the living. "Very good Miss Granger!" Flitwick praised. "Now I think we can add the incantation. Do you all have your feathers?"
The class mumbled a small "Yes Professor," before returning to their stupor.
"Good, good. Now repeat after me. Wingardium Leviosa."
Hermione was one of the first to follow instructions and her feather gave a small jump into the air. Ron noticed this and was not at all pleased by it. "Wingardium Leviosaa." Nothing. I felt a pang of sympathy for my friend as Hermione turned her annoyance to him.
"It's Wingardium LeviOsa, not Leviosaaar." She told him. The tips of Ron's ears turned beat red.
"Fine." He spat. "If you're so great, why don't you do it?"
Hermione gave Ron a smug smile. "Wingardium Leviosa." She swished and flicked her wand just right and the feather rose gently into the air.
"Very good Miss Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor" Hermione smiled proudly and Ron's ears turned their trademark red, and he slid down in his seat annoyed. I didn't see him move his wand for the rest of the class.
"Can you believe her? What a nightmare, honestly! It's no wonder why she doesn't have any friends!" Ron exclaimed angrily. "It's LeviOOOOOOOOOOOOOOsa, not Leviosaaaaaaar. What a-"
I was just about to retort and tell Ron to stop it, when Hermione pushed passed us. I couldn't be too sure, but I thought I saw tears streaming down her face. "I think she heard you Ron." I told him. Ron looked down ashamed, but got over it quickly enough and started talking to Harry, leaving me to find Hermione.
This task, as simple and easy as it may seem, was much harder than expected. I checked the dormitory first, but without any luck. Then I went to the library, and most surprisingly, she wasn't there either. I searched for about ten more minutes before I gave up and went to Defense Against the Dark Arts. She would more than likely be there. After all, Hermione Granger doesn't skip class.
But she did today. Ron was looking more and more worried as the class went on, which was very unlike him. He kept glancing back at the door, and tapping his pencil impatiently. "Just apologize to her Ron." I whispered, while Professor Quirrell was busy writing something on the board.
"Not bloody likely. Maybe she should show up first, then apologize for making me look like an idiot in front of everybody!"
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "You're hopeless."
…
By the end of the day Hermione had still not shown up, and I was beginning to get worried. I had just resolved to finding her after the Halloween Feast if she didn't show up, when I heard Parvati Patil whispering loudly to her friend. "Hermione's been in the bathroom all day, just crying her eyes out. When I went in to check on her she said she wanted to be left alone." Ron looked a bit uncomfortable when he heard this, but for the most part he pretended that he hadn't heard a thing.
"I should go check on her…" I told them starting to turn around, but Ron caught my hand.
"Just stay for the feast. Besides, you heard Parvati. Hermione wants to be left alone."
"Yes, but what kind of friend would allow their friend to sit in a bathroom and cry their eyes out?"
"Just stay for the feast." He said and dragged me into the Great Hall. At first I had no idea why Ron had been so insistent on me staying for the feast, but finally concluded that he was embarrassed. Ron Weasley didn't want me to go talk to Hermione and grovel for him.
I wanted to enjoy the feast, and succeeded in this eventually, but I kept glancing back over my shoulder to see if Hermione was coming. However, my mind was taken off of my friend in the bathroom as soon as I noticed how spectacular the Great Hall looked. The candles that usually hung above the Great Hall were replaced by a thousand tiny pumpkins, all twinkling from the candles inside them. But that wasn't even the most amazing part. Hundreds and hundreds of live bats flew around the hall. They flew in clusters, and they flew as loners. Either way, each bat made the light from the pumpkins stutter.
I was just about to dig into my second helping of potatoes, when Professor Quirrell walked, no sprinted, into the Great Hall. Everybody stared at him and the frantic look on his face. "Troll… in the dungeon! I thought you ought to know."
And then he sank to the floor in a faint.
The effect was instantaneous. Students got up from their tables, screaming and running towards the doors. Teachers got up to try to bring order. Only Professor Dumbledore seemed capable of calming down the panicking school. He waved his wand and immediately, the Great Hall was silent. "Prefects," He roared. "Lead your houses back to their dormitories immediately!" Percy jumped up and puffed out his chest proudly.
"Follow me, Gryffindors! Stick together First years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me! I am a prefect!" Oh Percy…
I was just about to follow the group of first years when a horrible thought struck me. "Hermione." I whispered harshly.
"What was that?" Harry asked, stopping to turn and look at me.
"Hermione." I repeated again.
"What about her?" Ron asked as he too stopped to look at me.
"She wasn't in the Great Hall when Professor Quirrell told everybody about the troll. She doesn't know!"
The color drained out of both of their faces. "We have to go." Ron said hurriedly, and rushed off in the other direction. Harry and I looked at each other, slightly confused by Ron's sudden change of heart. I shrugged at him and went to follow Ron.
I was pretty sure I knew what bathroom she was in, as there was only one that was remotely close to the Charms classroom. "This way!" I called to them as I dashed off around a corner, but stopped almost immediately. There was somebody moving down the hall. I grabbed my two friends by their shirts and shoved them into a doorway that was hidden in the shadows. As soon as I was sure we were out of sight, I dared to look out. It was Professor Quirrell.
"What is he doing here?" Harry asked. "All of the teachers are supposed to be in the dungeon looking for the troll."
"I don't know, but we better get going." I said hurriedly, and once I was sure that Professor Quirrell was out of sight, I continued down the hall. We were almost there when I heard the crash, and I knew we were going to be too late. "Its' found her!"
The three of us broke into a sprint and found the door completely ripped off its hinges and thrown across the corridor. Inside the bathroom was Hermione, cowering under a sink in the back, and she was struggling to keep on a brave face. But what made my heart drop out of my chest, and my knees almost give way was the hideous, giant monster raising a club above her.
I reached for my necklace instinctively, but stopped myself. If this troll was anything like the monster from the third floor corridor, I knew it would do nothing except confuse my friends and possibly anger the monster. I was basically weaponless in this situation.
I barely had time to register Harry's voice calling out frantically. "Hermione, move!" before the troll's club smashed down on the sink Hermione had been under, and my friend had barely gotten herself out of the way with a shriek. I tackled the troll.
Well, I can't really say tackled, can I? As the troll was about five times larger than me and I had nothing to attack it with. Either way, I was up onto of the troll and beating its head as hard as I could. Of course this didn't help anything. If anything, it only made it angry. I registered that Harry was next to me, and he too was trying to beat the troll's face in. The troll gave a loud grunt, and picked up the both of us off of his face. He started spinning us around using one hand, and with the other he was trying to hit us with the club. Harry and I were both trying to dodge it, but it was hard, and I was quickly running out of energy. I was getting more and more exhausted, and then with a pain worse than I had ever felt before, my vision turned fuzzy and I black out. I had been hit.