Thank you to those who told me that the past tense of 'hang out' is 'hung out'. Thanks for pointing it out to me *blush*

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Belgariad.

Chapter 10: Busted! Stupid Troll!

Draco Malfoy was torn. He was currently holding his father's letter which stated within its words that he would spy on Harry Potter and report it all to him. The letter clearly made him question where his loyalties stood – his father or his new friend.

If he hadn't befriended Potter than he would have done as his father ordered in a heartbeat. However, the closeness he had with the Potter heir made him question whether he should follow his father's orders or not.

There was something…unique about Harry Potter. Draco grew up in pureblood circles hearing the tales of Harry Potter as he grew up. The boy was supposed to be living in an enchanted castle, learning loads of powerful magic, slaying dastardly creatures with a wave of his hand, and rescuing pureblood princess before going to bed.

After meeting the real Harry Potter in Madam Malkins, those fantasies were thrown out the window with a relish. His conversation with Harry Potter during their ride in Hogwarts Express and their months of being real friends in school made sure that those fantasies didn't make a return.

Harry James Potter was quite different as how others made him out to be and he definitely liked the real one compared to the fantasy that people worked up to satisfy the masses.

Harry James Potter was intelligent, frighteningly so. His fellow first year was always the first to understand the theory and perform the spells. Unlike that chit, Granger, Potter helped those who wanted to be helped, guiding them to understand the lesson and helping them perform the spells to mastery. Heck, Draco was one of those who reaped dividends from Potter's help.

Harry James Potter was also a very powerful wizard. What people didn't know, Draco was a sensor of sorts, a rare talent that was present due to his Black ancestry. He could sense the power rolling off the boy and it made him shiver. If that was how powerful Potter was before reaching maturity, he shuddered to think how powerful Potter would be when he does.

Also, Harry James Potter wasn't the Gryffindor Golden Boy the people labeled him to be. Potter was expected to stick to the norm and declare his undying hatred on the Slytherins. But no, really Harry James Potter wasn't like that.

Potter was a Ravenclaw through and through.

Potter was quite friendly. He would accept anyone into his fold without question as long as their actions merit the same. Potter was very understanding and open to the ideas of others. He didn't push his views nor does he step on time-honed traditions. He accepted them and learned from them.

For the month they spent as friends and indulging in academic activities to better themselves in magic, Draco found a true friend in Harry James Potter. Being a Malfoy, he expected some of his peers to look at him with distrust and fear due to his father's involvement when You-Know-Who was still around. But no, Harry didn't see him as a Malfoy. He saw him as Draco or Drake as he liked to call him.

This was why he was torn. He didn't want to reveal what he knew of Potter to his father since that would break the trust the Boy-Who-Lived had on him.

Draco looked at the letter again, his mind whirling in thought as to how he would get out of this without making his father mad at him.

Maybe a letter to his mother was the key.

Draco turned to his trunk and pulled out his parchment, quill, and ink; hoping all the while that his mother knew what to do.

It was Halloween and Harry was currently in one of the unused classrooms in the Transfiguration wing of Hogwarts with Neville Longbottom, trying to determine why the boy's magic was working against him.

When he was finished with the assigned spell work for the day in McGonagall's class, Harry spent most of his time practicing his Mage Sense as he dubbed it, acquainting himself with how his peers were using magic. When he trained his senses on Neville, he was surprised when he felt the boy's magic react negatively to the wand in his hand. Of course, this resulted in the spell failing, turning his matchbox into something that resembled a rat and not completely a rat. A matchbox with a tail was definitely not a rat.

After class, Harry immediately cornered Neville and led him to a vacant classroom, trying to determine what was wrong and try to solve the problem. He liked the boy, despite being shy and all, ever since the Longbottom heir showed his study group that even when he was not capable of properly casting the spells taught to them in class, he was a genius in Herbology.

Here he was, using his Mage Sense to determine the problem. The only thing he got was Neville's magic not connecting to the wand. His eyes strayed at the piece of wood the boy was holding. It was too old and used to be new.

"Neville, did you buy that wand from Ollivanders?" asked Harry rhetorically, causing Neville to pause from casting the Levitation Charm before looking down in shame. Harry frowned at the action before asking. "What's the problem?"

"Well, H-Harry. This is my father's wand, you see. Gran didn't want me to buy a new wand since she told me that my father's wand should be good enough." Neville informed him with a blush on his face.

Harry sighed. Now he knew what the problem was. Nevile's magic wasn't reacting well with the wand since it wasn't tailor-fitted to his own.

"There's the problem, Neville. You can't do the spells properly because your wand isn't suited to your magical signature. According to the book I read on the subject, wands pick their master and not the other way around. If the wand isn't suited to your magic then your spells would be at half power or fail outright." Harry deadpanned.

"I don't know, Harry." said Neville with a bit of hesitation in his voice. "I think I'm the problem and not my father's wand. Before school, I have only shown accidental once and once only. That was the time my Uncle Algie threw me out of the second floor window and I bounced instead of being flattened on the ground. My Gran was quite happy that I wasn't a Squib but from the looks of it, what happened before was a one-time thing."

Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. He knew instinctively that he would be the same if he didn't break away from the Dursley's magic hating ways. Neville's depression wasn't helping either since magic centered on belief. If he didn't believe that he had magic then his magic would simply refuse to react no matter what he did.

Deciding that his new friend's life wasn't worth the secrecy, he pulled off his ring focus from his finger and placed on the table in front of the morose boy. Neville saw the ring and looked at Harry in confusion.

"Can you keep a secret, Neville?" Harry asked seriously while extending a telepathic probe to connect to the boy's mind to gauge the response.

Neville gulped. This was the first time he saw his new friend this serious.

"I-I can, Harry. I p-promise that I won't tell whatever i-it is you wish to tell m-me." Neville stuttered out nervously. Harry smiled before pulling back the probe. Neville was quite honest with that reply and the boy's sincerity was blinding.

"That ring on the table is a magical focus a wand maker created for me a year back. Forget about your father's wand for now. I will show you that you HAVE magic and it is the wand's fault that you're not doing the spells properly." Harry said with a grin. The grin was infectious since Neville smiled a bit before looking at the ring in hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

"Double sure. Now, I want you to wear the ring on your finger. Then I want you to cast the spell. Think of the finger where you wore the ring as a wand. Clearly visualize what you want to happen and believe that the spell will work. Come on, give it a try." urged Harry, giving the boy an encouraging pat on the back.

Nevile sighed and decided to trust Harry on this. So far, the Boy-Who-Lived hadn't led him astray. He picked up the ring and couldn't help but admire its craftsmanship. He placed it on the index finger of his right hand and he could feel something reach into his heart. He looked at the feather on the table and followed Harry's instruction. He visualized the feather floating from the table and pointed his finger with the ring and did the usual swish and flick.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he incanted and was shocked at the result. The feather didn't float. It zoomed upward like a rocket to crash into the ceiling causing a little crack to form. The feather stayed there and had no plans of coming down any time soon. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"That, my dear Neville, was your magic. Despite being overpowered, you did the Levitation Charm with my ring focus that you couldn't do with your father's wand." Harry said smugly at the shocked boy who was still staring at the feather in awe and disbelief. "As you can see, you are a powerful wizard, Neville. You just need the right wand to bring it out."

Neville turned to Harry with hope in his eyes before his shoulder slumped and released a loud sigh. He removed the ring from his finger and gave it back to Harry who took it with a curious look on his face.

"What's the problem now, Nev?"Harry asked in exasperation. "You just found out that you have magic like the rest of us and you're still as down as a rat."

"This will never work, Harry. My Gran will never allow me to get a new wand." said a miserable Neville Longbottom.

"Why in the world are you letting your grandmother dictate your magic?" Harry exclaimed in disbelief causing the boy to look at him strangely. "It's your magic we are talking about here, Nev. Not your grandmother and definitely not your father. Since it's your magic, you decide what you want to do with it. Do you want to keep using your father's wand despite the fact that it doesn't work or are you going to make sure that your magic has a proper focus to improve?"

"I know, Harry. But I don't want to get on my grandmother's bad side. I badly wanted to get a new wand start catching up in class but there is no way for me to do that. Money is not the problem since I have plenty of money saved up from my allowance but I can't just leave school and go to Diagon Alley. And if I ask my Gran to take me there, she would just refuse." Nevile said in exasperation making Harry grin.

"Neville, Neville, Neville. You forget who you're talking to." Harry said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Neville asked while giving Harry a look of both confusion and exasperation, an amazing feat.

"Well, if you want to get a wand then let's go!" Harry said as he clamped a hand down on Neville's shoulder before teleporting out of the room to Diagon Alley with no one the wiser. Both of them appeared in the alley beside Ollivander's shop.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Neville shouted making Harry's grin grow. He looked around and recognized the alley they were in. "How in Merlin's bulging balls did we get here from Hogwarts?"

"That's my secret, Neville, and I urge you to stick to your promise to keep this a secret." said Harry with a serious look on his face.

"Fine, I will keep it a secret and I don't think people would believe me if I told them. Really, Harry bloody Potter using apparition in Hogwarts where it shouldn't be possible. I shouldn't be surprised but I am." Nevile exclaimed hysterically. Harry didn't bother to correct him that it wasn't apparition he used to bring them here.

"You're being overdramatic, Nev. Now, to Ollivander's we go and get you a wand." Harry said cheerfully as he shoved the Longbottom heir out of the alley and into Ollivander's shop next door

It was half an hour later that Neville finally found the wand he was destined for – thirteen inch, Cherry wood with a unicorn hair as a core. It produced a lot of red and white sparks, indicating that it bonded quite powerfully with its new master who was looking at it with awe in his eyes.

Ollivander was quite surprised to see two students from Hogwarts and shouldn't be in the alley while the school was in session. When he discovered that it was Harry Potter who took the boy to get a wand that was quite overdue, he just shrugged his shoulder before deciding that he didn't want to know HOW Harry Potter got out of the castle much less bring Augusta's grandson with him.

After paying for the wand and a holster which Harry insisted that he should have, both left the shop with a polite thanks to Ollivander who merely wished them a safe trip back to school; Harry ushered Neville back into the alley and teleported again to the classroom they were using.

"Now that you have your wand, the next thing to do is to practice with it. Since we have two hours before the Halloween Feast, you are going to go through ALL the spells taught to us in class and you will master them with your new focus. Clear?" said Harry with a gleam in his eyes. Neville could only nod since he was scared of unholy light in Potter's eyes that was directed at him.

"Good! Now let the tutoring begin!" Harry exclaimed before cackling in glee as he rubbed his hands together.

The next two hours was pure torture for one Neville Longbottom.

"What in the world happened to you?" Draco blurted out when he saw Longbottom's tired face as the boy walked, dragging his feet tiredly, towards the Great Hall with Harry beside him with a smug grin on his face. He and his fellow Slytherin first years came out of the dungeon where they're dorm was located to see Harry and Neville cross their path from the direction of the Transfiguration wing. He looked at Potter who was giving Neville a smirk. "Why do you look like the cat that got the canary?"

"Why, Drake, whatever to do you mean?" Harry said with an innocent look plastered on his face. Since the Slytherins knew that they wouldn't get an answer out of the boy even if they tried, they turned to Neville with curious looks on their faces.

Neville saw the questioning looks directed at him before giving out a tired sigh.

"Harry got to me. We spent the whole afternoon after Transfiguration class in one of the unused classrooms. He practically rammed the whole of last month's spells and theories into my brain." Neville revealed with a tired smile before his face turned exultant. "And I did all the spells perfectly. Harry said so."

The Slytherins were giving Neville disbelieving looks but couldn't deny that the boy was being honest. They looked at Harry for an explanation.

"Better believe it, guys…and gals." Harry added the last part when Pansy, Daphne, and Tracy leveled him a glare. "Neville here just needed some direct tutoring that's all. I'm proud to say that he now has full control over his magic and will not be having problem with the lessons ever again." Harry finished his explanation with a proud smile on his face.

"Right." Blaise quipped, automatically believing the explanation since Harry was painfully honest and blunt in the month that he knew him. "Good thing both of you finished on time. The Halloween feast is about to start in 5 minutes."

"We would have been here sooner if this sadist didn't decide to let me do the spells for the third time." Neville said in exasperation. "Really, if I can do the spells perfectly twice in a row then that should be enough. But no! Sadist Potter had to let me do it the third time to make sure I get things right."

"There's nothing wrong in making sure, Nev." Harry deadpanned causing the girls to snicker while the boy's were giving the Longbottom heir pitying looks. They knew how hard a taskmaster Harry was. Their study session and their grades were a testament to that.

"Alright. We better get going. The feast will be starting in a few minutes and I don't want to be late." said Tracy before her stomach let out a low rumble of hunger. Everyone's attention immediately zeroed in on her stomach. Tracy immediately placed her hands over her belly to hide it from the staring. "What? I'm hungry so sue me!"

This exclamation caused the stomachs of brute one and two to rumble as well, though louder than Tracy's. Harry let out a chuckle before making his way to the Great Hall.

"Well, that proves it. We better get going before the bodyguard duo decides to have us for dinner. I take Pansy's word to heart that those two eat anything and I don't want to be on their menu." Harry said with a cheeky grin causing both Crabbe and Goyle to blush as red as a tomato.

The Halloween Feast was quite extravagant and Harry could only gape at the assorted cuisines on the table. He was surprised that the furniture didn't break down from the weight.

He was having fun eating and conversing with his fellow Ravenclaws when the door of the Great Hall banged open, revealing Professor Quirrel running into the room with fear etched on his face.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! Thought you should know." He blurted out before falling forward in a dead faint.

The entire student body started screaming in fear since trolls were definitely bad news and a troll in school was worst. The scream lasted for a few more seconds before a loud bang silenced them. Everyone looked at the source of the noise to see the Headmaster with his wand aloft.

"Everyone stay calm. Prefects, take your respective charges back to your dormitories. Teachers, follow me to take care of this problem." He announced before walking around the table to exit the Great Hall, the professors following him.

Harry looked at the fainted form of his DADA instructor before following Penelope leading them back to the safety of the Ravenclaw dorm.

Harry and the rest of his housemates made a beeline towards the Ravenclaw dorms but had to stop when the troll, who was supposed to be in the lower sections of the castle, blocled their way.

"Shit! Everyone back! Go back to the Great Hall!" Penelope shouted as she drew her hand and pointed it at the troll that was brandishing its huge club. "Confringo!"

A bright orange spell flew out of Penelope's wand to hit the troll on the face. However, the troll's magic-resistant hide resisted the spell, causing it to splash harmlessly on the troll's face without visible damage though the troll was clearly annoyed at being shot at since it let out a loud roar to punctuate its point.

"Damn it! Trolls are too magically resistant for low level spells to work." Penelope cursed before shouting back at the fearful students behind her. "Everyone back to the Great Hall! Quickly! I'll try to hold it off as long as I can."

The first years followed the prefect's orders and starting running to the Great Hall. Penelope was slowing the troll down by throwing curses after curses at the beast but it was still making its way toward her. She fired an overpowered Reducto that pushed the troll back a bit. It roared in rage before throwing its large club at Penelope who was kneeling on the floor, tired from using too much magic.

Harry was about to leave with the rest of his peers when he saw Penelope fall to the floor, kneeling and drawing in deep breaths. His own breath hitched when he saw the troll throw the club at the downed prefect.

Throwing off any pretense of secrecy, Harry flicked out his wand and shouted the first defensive spell he learned from one of the dueling books he had in his collection.

"PROTEGO!" Harry shouted as a bright blue dome of pure magic encompassed Penelope's form before the club could it her. The impact caused a loud bang to echo around the narrow hallway before the club flew back to the troll that hit it on the stomach, making the beast double over in pain. Harry immediately ran to Penelope's side.

"Are you alright, Penelope?" asked Harry while keeping an eye on the clearly pained troll.

"Potter? What are you doing here? Go back to the Great Hall and look for a professor." Penelope said while taking in deep breaths.

"And leave you here at the mercy of the troll? You have got to be kidding me." Harry deadpanned before he cast an overpowered Reducto at the troll when it finally got over its brief bout of pain and ran towards them. The spell hit the troll on the stomach, where the club impacted, and pushed it back a couple of meters. Unlike the club, the spell was made of magic so the creature's hide blocked most of its effects.

Penelope was looking at Harry Potter in awe. Here was a first year who saved her life by casting a powerful shield charm that protected her from being brained by a very large club. Not only that, the boy now fired off a fifth year spell with enough power to push it back further than hers did. Who in the world was this boy?

Harry looked at the troll as it rose back to its feet. The beast picked up the club on the floor and started brandishing the thing around while roaring in rage. He decided that his wand didn't have a powerful output to put this thing down. He could run back to the Great Hall and its protection but with Penelope weak from magical exhaustion, they wouldn't get far before the troll could catch up to them. Grimly, he looked at Penelope and stared deep into her eyes.

"Penelope. I'm going to do something but promise me that you don't reveal what you see to the professors." Harry said grimly as he flicked his wand to the side, preparing himself for what he was about to do.

"What are you talking about, Harrry?" Penelope asked immediately. The grim look in the boy's eyes unnerved her. "What are you going to do?"

"Just promise me that you won't say anything to what you are about to see." Harry barked urgently as the troll started walking towards them.

"Promise!" Penelope shouted without hesitation when she saw the troll lumbering towards them and prayed that what Potter was about to do would be enough.

What she saw next scared and awed her at the same time.

Hearing Penelope's promise, Harry flicked his wand forward and willed it to its staff mode. It glowed white for a bit before it lengthened to its original size, power running off it in waves as Harry fully connected its core with his focus.

However, the troll was too close for him to cast any offensive spells and its club was already making its way towards them. Not wasting any time, Harry slammed the butt of his staff on the floor and incanted a spell.

"PROTEGO MAXIMA!"

A shield more powerful than Protego materialized around Harry and Penelope, stopping the club on its tracks before the magical construct flared with unsuppressed power to throw the troll back at least 50 meters, landing on the floor with a loud thud. The troll's club disintegrated upon contact with the powerful protection.

Harry hefted his staff on the floor and pointed its tip to the troll who was back on its feet. He channeled more magic to his staff and incanted. Since he didn't want to kill the troll, only knock it out for them to get away, he decided on stunning it.

"Stupefy!" Harry growled out before a bright red beam exited the tip of the staff that hit the troll on the chest. Since the troll's magic-resistant skin was still intact, the spell didn't stun the troll but it was enough to disorient it, giving Harry enough time to cast another overpowered spell. The young Sorcerer gripped both of his hands on the staff and prayed that he was going to be forgiven for what he was about to do.

"REDUCTO!" Harry roared, pushing as much magic as he could into the staff.

The Wizard's Staff flared as it absorbed its master's magic and released a bright blue beam as thick as his arm. The spell was so powerful that it made a hole right through the troll's chest, ignoring its magic-resistant hide, where its heart was. The spell continued on its path to hit the end of the hallway, blasting the wall to smithereens to reveal the dark sky outside.

Harry and Penelope looked at the troll as it stood still for a few seconds before falling to the ground, dead.

Sighing, Harry let go of his staff, making it however just a few inches off the ground, and turned to Penelope who was looking at him in awe.

"Glad that's over." Harry said tiredly as the adrenalin in his veins started to run out. He looked at Penelope for a few seconds before helping her to stand up. "I hope you stick to your promise, Ms. Clearwater."

Penelope shook her head before giving the boy who saved her a disbelieving look.

"With what you just did to the troll? I daresay I'll be keeping my mouth shut about this. Who would believe me?" Penelope blurted out in disbelief. Who would believe her that Harry bloody Potter's wand turned into a staff and killed the troll with a Reducto? She would be carted off to St. Mungo by those who listened to see if she was right in the head.

"Thanks, now…" he was stopped from what he was about to say when a familiar voice rang out from behind them.

"MR. POTTER!"

Harry turned to see the Headmaster looking at him and the dead troll in pure disbelief. Behind him, the professors, minus Quirrel, were doing the same thing.

"Well, shit!" Harry cursed before grabbing his floating staff, glowing as if in amusement.

End of Chapter 10

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