Things were different since the day Michael was injured against the Troll. Michael was in the hospital for a few days, and Hermione made sure that she visited every day, sometimes twice a day. Ron didn't think too much of it, but Harry couldn't help but wonder if there was something more behind the visits besides a simple friendly visit. If that were the case, she would have come to visit when Harry and Ron visited, but she enjoyed visiting on her own. After about three days, Michael finally awoke from his sleep and it was Harry and Ron that he awoke to.
"'Ello mate. Remember me?" Ron said sarcastically, clearly trying to ease any tension that he thought was there. Michael gave him a quizzical look.
"Ron, not to sound ungrateful, but why the hell are you hovering over my bed?" Harry and Ron looked at each other and smirked, and Michael knew something was up. "Okay what the hell is so funny, the last thing I remember was a Troll slamming me halfway across the library but my guess is that was just a dream…: He paused and looked at the two of them, who clearly weren't good at lying, at least not to Michael. He saw the two of them exchange the same look Michael and Harry had exchanged when Hermione ran out of the room when Ron had said his less-than-polite comment about her study habits. At that moment he knew something was wrong.
"Alright, I can see it in your faces; tell me what the bloody hell happened." Michael sat up and relaxed his back on the metal frame of the bed behind him. He crossed his arms and waited for either one of them to speak, and then Ron spoke first.
"Look, I didn't mean what I said to Hermione. I blurted it out, probably because of my stupidity, and then she ran out and you followed her. Harry and I ran went down to the Great Hall about an hour later to get something to eat and then Professor Quirll came limping in screaming about the Troll being in the lower levels of the castle, probably the dungeons. Then, all the students started to head toward the Quiddith pitch before Harry and I left the pack to come find the two of you. When we got here, you were fighting a Troll before you got flattened and smacked across the library room and then slammed your head on a… book shelf. Not the best way to go down swinging… "Ron made a swing of the arm gesture and then fell behind Harry, nervous if what he said would have any type of bad impact on his friend.
Michael looked from Harry to Ron, and then before he knew it Hermione was blasting through the door arguing with Madam Pomphrey. She saw Harry and Ron next to Michael's bed and gave Ron a bit of a nasty sort of look, smiled at Harry, and then realized that Michael was awake. He saw the look in her eyes, and it scared him, but he made sure to play nice and make sure things played out smoothly for the group.
"Hermione! Good to see you." He was nervous. He could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead and under his forearms, and from what source he didn't know. He waited for her reply, but she was too busy looking back and forth from Harry to Ron. Then she finally made eye contact with Michael, and before he knew it the two of them had a hard time not looking at one another. He waited then noticed her bottom lip start to move.
"Michael. I wasn't expecting you to be up so soon. Madam Pomphrey said you would be out for another few days, but I 'spose you are stronger than the average wizard." She studied him, almost as if she wanted to be sure that he was okay. He was concerned, he didn't know what was happening between the two of them, but he knew it wasn't anything that he had experienced before. He looked at Harry and Ron for answers, but the both of them shrugged their shoulders and gave him half-hearted replies like "Me either" or "She had a point". Hermione walked over next to Michael and sat down on a stool next to the bed. "You probably don't remember much, do you? I heard Ron explaining what happened to you so maybe I can help fill in the blanks. We were going up to the library to work on some History of Magic work. We turned towards the corridor where the doors are for the library and a Troll came around the other corner. We ran into the library and the Troll followed us, swinging its hammer all over the place. You tried the few spells you could but they weren't doing much damage to it so you tried throwing bricks at it, and then Harry and Ron came running in and you took your eye off the Troll and it swung and lifted you off the ground and you slammed your head on a… shelf." Towards the end of her story her voice started to trail off, showing signs off her being upset about the events. Michael did his best to make her feel better.
"Hermione it isn't your fault. It's none of our faults to be frank. How could we have known that a bloody Troll would come strolling through the Hogwarts castle? Besides, he definitely was just jealous he didn't get an acceptance letter." That did it, she kept her head tilted down, but moved her eyes to look at Michael, and he saw her smile. Then she stood up, said her goodbyes and left. Michael asked Harry and Ron for any work he would miss and then they did the same.
Michael's recovery was quick and smooth, and only a few days after he was released from the hospital wing, he had felt good enough that he decided he would join in on the day's lessons. Harry Ron and Hermione were all at their current class, and although Madam Pomphrey said he didn't have to go, he decided it would be best to attend and try to gain some knowledge of what he'd missed over the few days. He grabbed his Potions book from the common room and made his way back down the steps to the dungeons where the class took place. As he cracked open the door, he heard the Professor stop talking immediately, and once Michael had fully appeared from behind the door the Professor sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"Ah yes, our other celebrity. Congratulations on surviving your attack against a Troll, Mr. Morgan. Ten points from Gryffindor for being late to my class. Next time, I suggest you don't go looking for another headline story. Now sit down." Michael could hear the snickering from the Slytherins and looked around the room until he saw that the seat next to Harry was empty. He readjusted his bag on his shoulder and made way across the room until he reached his seat. Once Michael sat down, Harry was the first to greet him.
"Well it's bloody good to see you. He's been having cracks at me for just taking notes on his first introductions about what we were going to learn this year and took ten points from us!" He clenched his fist, trying to mask his frustration so the Professor doesn't find another reason to deduct points from Gryffindor. Michael took out his ink and quill, along with his books and then turned to whisper to Harry.
"So this is Professor Snape? The one all the older kids told us to be careful around?" During the Sorting ceremony, they had all been warned about the worst Professor, that being Professor Snape. He hated Gryffindor's the most, but any house other than Slytherin was not one he rather fancied. They had warned the newbies about his double-Potions classes, his enjoyment in deducting points from the other houses, and that almost everyone didn't enjoy his classes. He was a tall, pale person with black hair that was perfectly straight down to his shoulders. He had small lips and a large nose that was angled perfectly downward. His lips look more like slits of paper, whether from curling them up because of anger or because those were his actual lips, no one really knew.
He glanced up to make sure Professor Snape wasn't honing in on them. It was rather odd for him and Harry to be purposefully placed next to each other. It's a different story if the Professor doesn't care who you sit with, but Michael's guess was that the Professor intended to have them paired. Twice the rise, and twice the fall. The two biggest 'celebrities'(as he called them) would be easier targets together than separated, and he did a fine job of proving that over the course of their double-Potions class. Professor Snape made straight-forward, rude, unnecessary remarks to the pair of them the entire time. He would find any flaw that they made and be sure to comment on it. So to say the two of them were relieved to finally get to leave would be an understatement. Harry and Michael were one of the last to leave, being that their seats had been purposefully placed near the front, so they met up with Ron outside the classroom. Hermione was walking far ahead, clearly one of the first to leave, and Michael knew then that her issues with Ron hadn't been dealt with yet. Before Michael and Harry were in hearing distance from each other, he whispered to him, "We need to stop their fighting." He gave a quick nod, and then they both rejoined Ron outside of the classroom.
While Ron was in the loo, Harry and Michael devised a plan to get the two together in order to talk things out and get over the petty ignoring of two people who should be friends. Harry would handle Ron, and Michael would handle Hermione. They both agreed they had better charming effects on their respective choices, so it would make things easier to get them together. Harry would keep Ron in the common room while Michael snatched Hermione out of the library and brought her there. Once they were face to face, Michael would stand by the portrait and Harry would stand near the stairs, that way neither would be able to just leave the room until the two of them talked it out. Harry and Michael thought it was rather brilliant, but they both agreed to wait on that celebration until things were panned out. Once Ron returned, Harry took out some textbooks and they started working on some Potions homework. That was his signal to go get Hermione, because Harry could only keep Ron occupied with homework for so long.
Once Michael reached the library, he searched a few rows before he found Hermione near the window seat on the table, three books sprawled out on the desk. He smiled to himself, because he sometimes had to do the same thing just for one assignment. He walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder, she looked up and when she saw it was him, her body relaxed. She put down her quill so she wasn't unintentionally ignoring him while she was working. He decided now was the time to talk.
"So…erm… whatcha doin?" He sat down next to her and saw that it was their History of Magic essay due a week from now.
"Oh, I'm just trying to get ahead a bit. I figured if I started this, I'd be able to enjoy my weekends more, not that I really know what I'll do yet but I suppose we'll see." She looked him in the eyes, and Michael could feel them staring at him even though he wouldn't stare back at hers. He was focusing in on the essay, trying to figure out a clever way of making the cleverest girl in his year believe him.
"Look there's been an accident back at the common room with Harry's things and, well, we need your help. I've tried everything but it's just not working." He finally removed his eyes from the paper, trying to put a believable look on his face. She raised her eyebrows and replied, "What kind of 'accident'?" Better make this good, you idiot he thought to himself.
"Well Harry sort of… spilt his ink everywhere and I'm pretty sure Fred and George might've jinxed it too. Every time we try to clean it up, it just changes colors. Look, I just need you for a few minutes that's it." He fidgeted with his fingers, hoping she would agree. They really needed to resolve this stupid fight. "Fine, fine. But you owe me then." She gave a joking laugh and smiled at him, and then they were off to the common room. Once they entered through the portrait, Michael was surprised to see Harry and Ron still doing their Potions work. This might have been a new record for Ron. He dragged Hermione by the arm over to the couches and then, as she tried to turn around, swung her around gently so she was now in front of him and she couldn't run off to the portrait. Then, Harry stood up and made a motion towards the stairs, cutting that direction of retreat off too. Hermione gave an angry look to Harry, then to Michael, and then sat down in frustration. To this, Michael believed she had waved her white flag, so he sat down next to her. Ron stood up to go towards the stairs, clearly unaware that Harry had even moved, then did the same thing as Hermione.
Michael waited for the two of them to speak, then he decided to break the silence. "Harry and I aren't letting either of you leave until you guys fix this bloody mess. Ron, you owe someone an apology. And Hermione, well, try not to jinx him." Ron gave a look that screamed of 'save me' and Harry just shook his head back at him. Ron looked down at his hands in his lap, and then spoke. "I'm sorry for what I said Hermione. Truth is, I was just jealous..." Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, as did all of theirs. They expected an apology, but they hadn't expected Ron to say he was jealous. She loosened up a bit, then slouched back into the couch. Harry took that as a sign of contempt and sat down on the single-person couch. "Thank you Ron. But you needn't be jealous of me; you three are the only friends I've got."
Friends. It was honestly something he was worried about the few nights before he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He wasn't sure what to expect, but at that moment, he knew that times were only going to get better. He glanced over at Hermione, who had thrown her bag on the table when they first arrived in frustration. "Oh, by the way Hermione, I did that essay a week ago. So I'll show you mine if you help me with Astronomy. I hate that bloody subject." The four of them all laughs: two bookworms, two normal kids, but after that night they were four tight-knit friends. And although they may bicker time and again, they were all nearly inseparable.