Chapter 10: Midnight Meetups and Smelly Trolls
"I wouldn't bother going if I were you," Naruko said to Harry.
"We don't have a choice. Draco challenged Harry to a duel in the middle of the Dining Hall. We have to show up and I'm Harry's second," Ron replied.
"I still wouldn't go," Naruko replied in an almost singsong voice.
Ron was about to ask what her problem was, but Harry stopped him as he asked, "What do you mean?" Harry really would rather hear her thoughts then just throw them out like Ron seemed to want to do here.
Naruko gave a sigh. "Oldest trick in the book for cowards like Draco. Make you think your forced into a duel or some other challenge. Pick a terrible spot for such a duel. I mean come on. The Trophy Room? Yeah… There's no way a fight there will get noticed there. It isn't like the room's filled with breakable stuff or anything," she said, the ending dripping in sarcasm.
Harry was in thought about that. She had a really good point.
"I wouldn't at all be surprised if he happens to 'accidentally' let it slip near Filch he overheard some students planning something at midnight in the Trophy Room. Filch will then arrive to investigate and bam! You end up in detention. Even if you try to call Draco out about it, he'll just laugh and say something along the lines of…" Naruko paused to clear her throat.
"I knew you were just a dimwitted lion. I had no idea you were that much of a dunderhead though. Who would really have a duel in the Trophy Room of all places?" Naruko said in her best imitation of Blonde Sasuke.
"You do have a point," Harry said in thought.
Ron was looking to them in question. "Are we not going then? What if he does show up and he is serious. It could be the Trophy Room is where we first meet up before going to the real place for the duel. This sounded personal and I doubt he'd want an audience showing up to the real location. Especially, if he'll have both Crabbe and Goyle jump us. That's the only way he could win," Ron said.
Harry was in thought for a moment longer. "I'm still going. I have to know. How about we get there early and hide in the room to watch and see if he shows up or not?" Harry suggested.
Ron nodded to that with a grin. "If he doesn't show, we leave it be. If he does show up, then we come out of the shadows and be all cool as we say, 'we're here.' Or something like that and preferably from somewhere he isn't looking. That's how it is in the stories and everything," Ron said.
Harry really liked his idea. It did sound really cool.
Naruko shook her head at them. "I'm coming too," she said in a manner that left no room for debate.
"Why?" Ron asked.
"To make sure you two don't get in trouble. Also, if he does try to jump you two with help from Crabbe and Goyle, three wands are better than two," she said. She then gave a grin and added, "Plus, it is a legitimate reason to sneak around the castle past curfew and if the duel does happen, I'll be an extra witness."
Ron looked to Harry for an answer to Naruko's demand. Harry grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me," he said easily. He wasn't about to say no to spending more time with Naruko.
"So then, when do we leave. Are we going out before curfew to avoid attention, even if it will be a longer wait? Will we just leave a couple of hours early?" she asked.
"I say we just leave a couple of hours early. I don't fancy waiting four or five hours. A couple of hours early gives us plenty of time to carefully make our way over there," Harry said.
"It's settled them," Ron said with a nod. "How do we make sure no one questions why we're staying up so late in the common room? Do we pretend to sleep and avoid that?"
"Pretending to sleep either won't work or will cause you to actually fall asleep," Naruko said.
Harry nodded and laughed as he said, "Yep. They would wonder why Ron wasn't snoring so loudly."
Ron gave a slight frown as Naruko and Harry laughed. He then sighed. "I guess you have a point about the possibly falling asleep thing." He wasn't about to admit to any snoring. He just sawed logs in his sleep, thank you very much.
"We'll have to figure something out," Harry said. "Working on homework might not be a good idea. Hermione would probably volunteer to check over it for us and then she would stay up with us the whole time."
"You do realize she overheard it all, right?" Naruko said.
"Oh…" Harry said with a frown. He didn't know they got that much attention.
"What do we do then? Play Wizard's Chess?" Ron suggested sounding hopeful.
"That'd only work for a couple of rounds and Naruko and I aren't good enough to make the games last," Harry said.
"We could work on homework and when Hermione asks us what is up. We tell her. She will probably argue for a while, but she isn't about to tell a teacher or Prefect on us for this. Worst case scenario, she joins us to help me keep you two out of trouble," Naruko suggested.
Harry and Ron were in thought over this. Ron sighed and nodded. "You're right, Naruko. Plus, it would be nice to have her look over one of my assignments before we go and kick Malfoy's arse."
"He won't show, but yeah. Okay," Naruko said.
{-} {-} {-}
Things had mostly played out as Naruko said they would so far. Hermione joined them. She told them it was stupid to go at first, but Harry insisted along with Ron. It was now more about the principle of the matter than anything else. They weren't cowards! They were going to go and they were going to be smart about it like they planned. She said she would come along then as well.
One thing they hadn't planned on was Neville tagging along. Actually, it was more dragged along this time. Neville was outside and fell asleep in the hall while waiting for someone to come by and let him in Gryffindor. He forgot the password because it recently changed. When he tried to get in after Harry gave him the password, the Fat Lady had already gone off to a different portrait. She probably left for a late-night drink.
Getting to the Trophy Room wasn't too much of a hassle it turned out. They followed Naruko's lead and she kept them out of any trouble. They quickly dived into empty classrooms or hid behind statues or in alcoves whenever she told them to do so to avoid patrolling Prefects. There weren't too many but still there were some in the halls. She always called it before Harry and the others had to worry about getting in trouble. Harry would say it was like she had some kind of special sense for these things or something.
Hiding in the Trophy Room wasn't too bad either. It was dark for the night already and there was plenty of room in the dark corners for them to hide. The hardest part was keeping quiet, but they managed that while staying in the dark. Ron was actually even more excited for this duel because it would be even more dramatic when they stepped out to greet Draco.
Sadly, for Ron's dreams of drama, Naruko turned out to be right about Draco's real plan as well. It was shortly after their duel was supposed to start and there wasn't a sign of Draco, Crabbe or Goyle. However, there was a Filch and his damnable cat that decided to check in on the Trophy Room.
The group kept quiet, even as Mrs. Norris seemed to briefly glance at them. "Not here then?" Filch asked the cat. The cat meowed. "We wait then," he said as he nodded.
Unseen by the others, Naruko ran through a couple of hand signs and then there was the sound of something crashing in a different part of the castle. "What was that?! Peeves?! I'll have you now!" Filch said before running off in the direction the sound came from.
"Let's go. Draco's not coming," Naruko commanded and the others followed. "Lucky something distracted Filch, whether it was Peeves or not. I would say I told you so, but I just did," Naruko said with a slight giggle as they left the trophy room.
Their return wasn't as uneventfully as the trip there. It wasn't Naruko's fault. Neville thought he heard something and instead of staying calm he kind of freaked and ran. "Damn it…" Naruko muttered as they chased after him. She wasn't about to let someone she was responsible for get in trouble now.
Fortunately, they caught up to him quickly and he apologized. "I figured my luck had run out! I didn't want you all to get in trouble too…" he said. Naruko felt that was kind of sweet of him, even if it was misguided.
Unluckily, they heard a severe voice speak a distance further down the hall. "What are you saying, Argus?" Professor Snape asked.
"I's saying there be troublemakers out, Professor! A crash in one of the locked classrooms! Plus, it was one of your students who said there would be others out of bed tonight," Filch explained.
Naruko quickly unlocked a door and they dived inside as the two staff members shortly passed by them. Naruko's eyes widened as she saw a giant three headed dog! It was on top of a trapdoor, guarding it! She heard a gasp and quickly turned around and looked to her friends seriously as she placed a finger to her lips motioning for silence. All of them followed this order too. Neville mostly out of shame for not doing so earlier.
"We go back," she whispered to them. They quietly backed out and slammed the door shut before running. They heard a series of loud barks and kept going with Naruko leading them. She led them partially up a stair case and told them to pause. They caught their breath as they followed her orders. Hermione was holding on tight to Naruko's arm while they leaned against the wall.
The two men ran past them down below to go check on the noise they just heard. Naruko moved them out. The others were still quietly following. No one dared make a sound as they went the opposite direction the two men did.
{-} {-} {-}
Once they were inside the portrait's hall, they all started talking. "We almost died! Or worse got expelled!" Hermione almost shouted.
"Expelled worse than dying?" Ron asked in disbelief. "Get your priorities right!" he said.
Hermione looked close to tears over what all happened. Naruko grabbed her arm and the frizzy haired girl calmed down. "This is a new and important life for both of us. Getting expelled means, we would know of the world of magic, but be forced out of it again," Naruko explained as Hermione nodded.
"Ohhh…" Ron said. Hearing it that way he kind of understood better what they meant. Hermione was about to say something, but Naruko gave her a look and she held her tongue.
"I'm sorry!" Neville said pleading to them. "This is my fault! If I hadn't run…"
"You all listened to me once we were in the room and that is what was important tonight. You can't take back something in the past. You can just learn from it," Naruko said giving Neville a small smile. The boy sniffed and nodded.
"What was that dog doing though? Why do they have something like that here?" Harry asked in question.
"It was guarding something," Hermione said as Naruko nodded. Harry looked to them for an explanation. "There was a trapdoor it was standing on. I barely caught it after Naruko motioned for us to keep quiet," she explained calmly. She did grab Naruko's arm tighter briefly.
"Bloody more observant than me. I could only count to three over and over again before we left," Ron said with a sigh.
"Well. I think we've all had enough for tonight," Naruko said.
"Yeah… I really feel drained after that. Next time Draco challenges you to a duel… Please don't bother with it," Hermione said as she sighed and relaxed her body while letting go of Naruko's arm.
"Lesson learned… The hard way," Harry said.
They bade each other a good night and went to their respective dorms feeling really exhausted.
{-} {-} {-}
Potions was easily Naruko's favorite class. She liked Charms and Transfiguration, but Potions more so. She also seemed to have a bit of knack for it. Perhaps she was especially driven because she saw the uses potions could have for a ninja.
She also realized she wouldn't count Herbology as a favorite class after all. She was very driven in the class, but it was obvious to her this was because she knew how important it was for Potions. If it wasn't for her interest in Snape's class, she would see Herbology as not bad but not really too much fun. She would still try hard in it, Hermione wouldn't allow her not to do so, but she wouldn't care for it as much as she currently did.
Neville loved Herbology. Harry, Ron and Naruko told him many times he would probably be one of the best Longbottom Botanists ever in the family. Neville really appreciated hearing such things. He was often the screw up or klutz of the class. In Herbology, he was the closest to being the ace for once in his life.
Naruko had come to enjoy Potions so much she found herself wanting more. She made her way to Professor Snape's Office during his stated office hours. She knocked and heard a "Come in," from the Professor. Naruko walked into the classroom. "Miss Uzumaki. What is the meaning for your visit?" he asked as he looked up to her. He was surprised that he had actually gotten used to her ridiculous, by his standards, hair style.
"I was wondering if you could suggest books for me to checkout in the library for more on potion making, Professor Snape," she answered. She didn't feel like she could call him by anything less formal. He would probably explode if she dared call him Uncle Sevy or something like that. It might be funny, but it probably wouldn't be good when it happened.
"Was there something in particular you had in mind?" he asked her.
Naruko scratched her head a little nervously before she asked, "Yes. Maybe something for healing?" Naruko then gave him a foxy grin. She was sure of her answer now. She figured he wouldn't say no to that response.
Professor Snape was in thought for a moment. If he had doubts about if she was in fact Kushina's daughter, he would have lost them all seeing that foxy grin. It was something her mother was known for when she was either really happy or planning something.
Professor Snape decided to give her a test. He figured he owed this to her mother for helping him find his way in potion making. It wasn't playing favorites because she had to do it herself. "There are many healing potions. There is one in particular that isn't too specialized in its effects. It is a potion that will close up wounds, neutralize poison and enhance one's natural healing processes. It isn't too difficult if you have the talent and it isn't too easy either," he said to her.
"That sounds almost too good to be true. Then again you said natural healing after the other two. Does that mean it isn't ideal for more severe injuries?" she asked.
"That is correct. It is however the best and preferred prep potion, I guess you could say, for more advanced healing. It also does wonders for most injuries," he answered.
Naruko was in thought. "Is this actually three different potions? It does three different tasks."
Professor Snape looked to her neutrally, but was actually pleasantly surprised she worked that out herself so quickly most would just assume it was a single potion. "That it is. It is actually three potions combined into one," he said.
Naruko then had to ask a different question on her mind. "Could you just use the three potions separately?"
"If you were a fully qualified Healer and knew how to administer the potions correctly, then you could. That is what most Healers choose to do. The potion I speak of is used in more serious cases. As I said, it is ideal for prepping a patient before going into more advanced methods of healing," he said.
The girl hummed in thought with her eyes closed. She then opened them and asked, "Is it possible to over potion someone?"
"You are correct. That is why this potion is important. You don't have to worry about thinking over how much you have used of one potion to make sure you aren't about to go over the limits. It is just a singular potion you have to worry about." he said.
"I guess I start with the close wounds potion. Then the poison neutralizer. And finally, the enhancer," she said in thought.
"It is a four-step process. Each potion is one step. The fourth step is combining them properly," he said.
"Where will I start then?" Naruko asked.
Professor Snape wrote on a scrap of parchment where she should start. He handed it to her. Naruko took it and asked, "How do I know if the potions are correct? I can't just go around testing it on people by cutting them or poisoning them."
"You know my office hours. Each first year by this point should know how to preserve and keep fresh a potion. When you think you have done well enough, bring it to me and I will examine it," Professor Snape said to her.
Naruko nodded.
"I won't tell you exactly what to do, but I will give you some hint as to what you did wrong if I feel it is needed," he said to her. "I will not coddle you and give you the answer outright."
"I know. Life isn't easy or fair," she said less politely than she meant to say it. She then sighed and looked him right in the eyes. "Trust me. I know that lesson already, Professor Snape." She hoped maybe he would understand why she dismissed it like she did.
He looked her over and said, "You may leave now, Miss Uzumaki. I am guessing that is all you required."
Naruko nodded and left. She paused at the door for a moment before opening it and saying, "I do appreciate you are trying to also teach that lesson to your students in your class." She then opened the door and left.
Professor Snape was in thought at her last words. "It seems the daughter is just as perceptive as the mother. Or as perceptive as Kushina said she learned to be after meeting that boyfriend of her's," he thought. He wasn't fully sure on the name. He thought it was Minato someone. The times she mentioned her boyfriend it was usually some kind of cutesy lovey dovey name she most often made up on the spot to try out.
Professor Snape then gave a slight chuckle to himself. "I'm surprised Hagrid hasn't let that slip to her yet," he thought before stretching and getting ready to end his office hours, if anyone knew Kushina's boyfriend's name it would be Hagrid. Snape wasn't ready to retire to his chambers yet, but he did wave his wand and a sign appeared on his door saying closed and stating his hours.
Few people knew this, but Professor Snape actually used his office to relax as well. He couldn't really do that too much in Slytherin when he went to his chambers. He would have to be ready to navigate the annoying labyrinth of kids playing politics at any moment.
Most of the students in Slytherin used Hogwarts as a testing grounds for such things so they will have some experience once they leave school. The Elites as a whole decided what happened at Hogwarts usually stayed at Hogwarts. Kids made mistakes. However, once they graduated, everything from then on counted fully in their games.
{-} {-} {-}
"What do you think Halloween will be like?" Naruko asked Hermione as the mentioned day was approaching. Naruko was really excited about it. Konoha didn't have such a holiday.
"Ooooo I don't know! I bet it will be fun," Hermione said cheerfully. Naruko noticed Hermione seemed to be in a good mood when they were alone like this, but worried over something when they were around the others. After the flying lessons, things were briefly better, but soon Hermione started to withdraw again. Naruko was thinking she might need to address this soon.
"I just hope Halloween isn't too terrible for Harry," Naruko said with a frown.
Hermione's honey brown eyes widened. "Oh no… I never realized that!" Hermione started to panic. Was she being a terrible friend?! She didn't think how Halloween was the day he lost his parents.
"Calm down, Hermione. Relax. We will just have to watch him and see," Naruko said. Hermione seemed to calm down to her words.
It turned out Harry was actually the most excited about Halloween. "I mean. I get what happened on Halloween. But… for better or worse. The Dursleys raised me believing they died in a drunk driving accident. I was more upset they weren't there than that they died most of my life… If that makes sense," Harry said when he was talking to Naruko and Hermione alone right after breakfast.
He gave a smile to them. "Thanks for being worried about me. But I actually want to see what Halloween is like without having to worry about my dumb cousin and all of that. I never got to actually enjoy the day. Here I get to! Like you said, Naruko. Start of a new life." He gave a grin. Naruko actually blushed in response and nodded with a smile, this was something Hermione found far too adorable with her whisker marks and all.
When the day arrived, classes were difficult to focus during. Everyone was excited for the Halloween feast! The day started off with Charms and they were practicing the levitation charm. Ron was having trouble, but Hermione helped even if he got a little testy with her at first. Naruko gave him a look and he realized Hermione was just trying to help. Hermione was a little worried about what happened there as she saw Naruko look to Ron. She was thankful for the help, but it also seemed to tell her something more than it probably meant to say.
The last class that day was Potions, since Flying Lessons were pretty much over for everyone by this point. Hermione was confident enough to fly a broom, even if she preferred to do so with company and not alone. She had already passed the class and got the extra experience she wanted in it. Surprisingly, she and Naruko weren't the last in the class once they got the extra practice. They were close to the last ones, but Crabbe and Goyle needed an extra lesson after them.
During Potions, Hermione seemed to withdraw a little again as Naruko and Daphne quietly chatted while completing their assignment. Naruko did try to get Hermione involved but caught the other girl with a frown, before she tried to hide it. Things got even worse when the class was over and they were back in the common room.
Lavender came over and talked to Naruko. Naruko again tried to get Hermione involved. Lavender seemed to want to as well, but the frizzy haired girl was frowning about something. She then politely excused herself and went to their dorm.
"Is she alright?" Lavender asked with worry.
"I'll go and see," Naruko said.
She walked upstairs and entered the room. Hermione looked up and almost drew her curtains closed, but Naruko stopped her. She looked to her friend who blushed in a little shame and looked away. Naruko sighed. "Alright. Come with me, Hermione. Clearly, we need to discuss something," she said.
"Why not here?" she asked being stubborn with a pout Naruko might have thought cute if the girl wasn't being this way.
"I think it is something we need to discuss alone," Naruko said seriously. Hermione looked up. Naruko gave her a grin and nervously scratched the back of her head. "Besides… I've always wanted to have an excuse for a girls' talk in the restroom. I know it sounds silly," she said.
Hermione seemed to brighten a little at the idea. "Okay… I kind of wanted that too," she admitted with a blush Naruko would say was cute.
"Alright, follow me then. We'll go to the one near the dining hall. That way we don't have to worry as much about getting to the feast quickly. You know the one on the second floor, but not that one," Naruko said. Hermione nodded and followed.
There were two sets of bathrooms on the second floor. One was near the stairs just above the dining hall. The other one was far more infamous. It was haunted by a girl ghost that always cried all of the time. She was usually referred to as Moaning Myrtle. None of the girls dared venture there unless they were about to pee themselves and couldn't wait until they got to the other one.
"Hey Lavender. We might be late to the Halloween Feast. We'll be in the bathroom right above the dining hall if anyone asks where we're at. Okay?" Naruko asked. Lavender nodded feeling a little confused. "Thanks!" Naruko said quickly as they left.
Hermione felt a bit silly really. They were going to have a discussion in the bathroom. It wasn't important, but it was something she secretly wished she could do when all of the other girls would go off together. She felt relieved Naruko also wanted to something like this as well. She felt a little less weird about herself, if that made sense.
{-} {-} {-}
"So. What has been bothering you, Hermione?" Naruko asked with a worried frown once they closed the doors and checked they were alone.
Hermione sighed. She wanted to say something else or actually blow off the question, but it was too late for that given her excitement for doing something so simple and silly. Fortunately, there was actually a bench in this restroom to relax on. It really was a fancier restroom.
Hermione looked worried as she looked down. "You. More specifically myself and you," she said. Naruko looked to her in question. Hermione sighed again.
"I've…" She blushed and pouted at the ground while folding her arms. It would have been cute if the mood wasn't so upsetting. "I've never had friends before. I've always either blown them off thinking they just wanted to be my friend to copy my homework. Or I chased away potential friends because of my reputation as a teacher's pet… Which followed me here even. I have some friends here though and I'm really happy! But I fear you'll all get bored of me..." Hermione frowned deeper feeling a little ashamed of herself.
"Especially you... So many people like you almost right away. Harry and Ron are like best buds already. I feel like they would see me as a third wheel or a drag to be around if you weren't there. I've realized that I mostly have them as friends, or at least when it comes to Ron, because of you. I saw how he was getting angry and I noticed you got him to calm down and not lash out at me, like he probably wanted to do first thing," she said.
Hermione then sniffed as tears filled her eyes. "I-I-I'm worried you'll get bored of me and leave me. Then they will all go with you! I'm just book worm Hermione. Teacher's Pet Hermione. Frizzy Haired Hermione. Beaver Tooth Hermione. I don't want to lose friends now that I've had a taste. I figured if I started distancing myself maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad. You can get along with almost everyone! Lavender. Parvati. Even Daphne from Slytherin! And everyone says she's an ice queen," Hermione was full on crying now.
She then felt a tight hug. She looked up and saw an equally crying Naruko. "I don't make temporary friends! I love you as a friend. I know you like books and all of that. I know you like studying. But you like other things too! I've noticed how happy you get when we talk together and some of the other things we have done. Your more than those names."
Naruko hugged Hermione tighter as the other girl cried too. "You're one of my precious people, Hermione. I never abandon my precious people."
"R-R-Really?!" Hermione asked through sobs.
Naruko gave Hermione a watery smile as she said, "I never leave them. You better believe it!"
Hermione sniffed and smiled an equally watery smile as the two girls hugged each other longer.
When they recovered, Hermione felt lighter than air. She believed Naruko. She was glad they had this talk, even if her worries were a bit silly. "Never think I don't want you as a friend, Hermione," Naruko said again with a final sniff.
"I'm sorry… It was silly for me to get that bothered about it and think all of that," Hermione said with another sniff as she wiped away her tears.
"Never think your worries are silly," Naruko said with a smile as she hugged Hermione again. Hermione returned the hug.
"I guess we should wash up, huh?" Hermione asked after they held the hug for a while. Naruko nodded as they stood up together. They still felt they needed some time though to talk normally and even out their emotions.
Naruko gave a chuckle after a bit. Hermione looked to her. "You'll probably find this strange, but until maybe a year or two back. I didn't have any friends either. I was actually hated by the people near where I live."
"What?! They must have been crazy," Hermione said. Lots of people liked Naruko, or if not, they at least didn't hate her.
Naruko gave a small smile. "Maybe. But it doesn't change the fact not having friends like that was the reason why I hold on to my precious people so much. There is little I wouldn't do to help them."
Hermione was in awe. Naruko really was amazing. She also had a friendless background, but she did so well around others. Hermione gave her another hug and smiled as she said, "I'm glad you're my friend. I'm glad you think that much of me. I think I might be a bit the same way. I just hadn't found my precious people until Hogwarts. I really don't want to lose any of them."
Naruko was about to recommend they go to the feast, but then her nose wrinkled. "What is that terrible smell?!" she asked as she almost gagged.
Hermione sniffed the air and blanched as well. She had no idea what it was. Then they heard a loud growl like sound. They looked and saw something very large and mean with a club.
Naruko immediately pushed Hermione back a bit as she stood in front of her just as the club landed and broke a sink near them. Hermione screamed, "Aaaaaaa!" Naruko narrowed her eyes dangerously at the troll.
The troll actually blinked in worry at her look. It was dumb and stank, but it could tell this yellow thing was tough. It decided to get meaner and was about to attack again.
Naruko blurred through hand signs. She would have to explain this later. Hermione would believe her after a long discussion. However. Just before she was about to call out her jutsu. Harry and Ron rounded the corner just behind the troll. Naruko appreciated they came to help, but they were getting in the way of her ending this right now!
"Distract it!" Naruko shouted to them.
Harry threw things at it and Naruko did as well from where she was. The troll looked back and forth between them both. He wasn't sure what to do with this.
"The club! Ron!" Naruko shouted still in a defense stance in front of Hermione who was holding on to her back tightly and frightened.
Ron's eyes seemed to light up. He aimed his wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The troll's club floated upwards and then the troll looked up at it dumbly.
"Drop it now!" Naruko said. Ron nodded and ended the spell. The club crashed down on the troll's head and it dazedly started to sway.
"Get back," Naruko warned. She even picked up Hermione, causing the girl to blush, as she jumped both of them out of the way as the troll thudded to the ground. Its limbs splayed outwards.
The others were looking at the thing in surprise. Naruko wasn't though. "We need to get moving now," she said. They nodded and followed. "Where did everyone go?" she asked.
Harry had enough presence of mind to answer. "Our houses. They will be ending the feast there," he said.
Naruko nodded and started moving while Hermione was still on her back. They needed to move quickly. She didn't think it would be a good idea to get caught with the troll. She preferred not to have to explain things and avoid getting in trouble.
"I can walk now…" Hermione said quietly. Naruko paused and Hermione climbed off her back. Hermione was still blushing and she held on to Naruko's arm as they finished getting back to the tower.
"Pig snout," Harry said as the portrait swung open. The fat lady seemed out of it and didn't argue. Probably due to the bottles of sherry in her painting.
The group came in quietly as they heard people talking loudly. Naruko, Hermione, Harry and Ron all slipped in over to where Neville was with Dean and Seamus.
"Where were you lot?" Seamus asked. Fortunately, he did so quietly.
"Long story… I'm really hungry," Naruko said. Seamus nodded as he and Dean handed them plates. The four went and got some food.
Lavender asked if Hermione and Naruko worked out whatever was needing to be worked out. "We did," Naruko answered with a smile as the other girl looked relieved. She then went and sat back down with the others.
Just as Naruko sat down and Hermione joined her, Professor McGonagall stepped inside looking a bit stern. "Is anyone not here?" she asked loudly getting everyone's attention. The students looked around and shook their heads. "Someone or someones. Just took out a Mountain troll. Did anyone just arrive not too long ago?" she asked looking them over.
Ron choked on his food as Dean, Seamus, and Neville looked to him and the others in surprise for a moment. Professor McGonagall looked at the group and came over to them. "How long have you been here? Mr. Weasley?" she asked looking to him and the other three. Ron's mouth was still full of food and he was hoping someone would help out here.
"Ummm… Professor McGonagall," Neville started.
"Mr. Longbottom, yes?" she asked looking him over with discerning eyes.
"They've been here the whole time. Came in just a little later than us though. I believe Naruko and Hermione where having a girl discussion, but met us as we left to come back here," he said doing a decent job of hiding that he was pretty much lying.
"I see. Mr. Finnigan?" she then asked. It was obvious she saw his face of shock earlier.
"I was just surprised Ron was choking on something. We've all seen how he packs food away, many a time now. Naruko's the only one who can give him a run for his money. It was quiet the shock," he said.
"I suppose you agree with them? Mr. Thomas," she asked. He nodded. "Sounds unlikely… But then again… So are the chances a couple of first years would have in doing such a feat. It is very impressive," she said. Looking them over acting impressed. The students didn't buy it though.
"Yes. It would be. Maybe a Prefect did it or something?" Naruko asked. The others seemed to be in thought before nodding agreement or shrugging their shoulders.
"I suppose it will forever be a mystery," Professor McGonagall said in a bored tone. "Enjoy the rest of your feast, everyone! Do remember you have classes tomorrow," she said as she stood back up tall and left.
Seamus then mouthed, "A troll?" to them.
Naruko shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head towards Ron. She then placed a finger cutely on her lips as she motioned for the Irish boy to 'shhhh'. Seamus blushed a little and nodded as they went back to eating. He would for sure be getting details from Harry and Ron before they fell asleep tonight. You could bet on that!
{-} {-} {-}
The Halloween feast in the dorms hadn't been too bad. Naruko wished she and Hermione could have seen the real feast though. More than that she was glad her life as a ninja was still a secret. At the same time, she made plans to get off her rump this weekend and start getting back into her training somehow. She should have been able to defeat that troll before Harry and Ron showed up.
"Naruko," she heard a voice call to her softly from the side of her bed.
Naruko looked up to see Hermione in her nightgown clutching a pillow to her chest. The girl looked to still be scared after the events of tonight. Naruko smiled to her and patted the bed beside her as she moved over a little to make room. Hermione smiled gratefully as she climbed in and closed the bed curtains behind her.
"Sorry…" she said softly.
Naruko gave her a hug. "No worries. It was a really intense night," she said softly. She gave a yawn and sort of wrapped her arms around Hermione as they laid down. "Besides… I've always wanted a body pillow. And I think Hermione-chan will be perfect for that tonight," she said with a smile earning a giggle from Hermione.
Hermione smiled to Naruko and snuggled in as well. She really appreciated this. It wasn't every day you were almost killed by a troll. She wanted to feel safe tonight and in her mind that was Naruko. She would have been too terrified otherwise to sleep at all.
Naruko was appreciating this because of the discussion they had earlier in the night. It was nice having her friend there like this after that emotional discussion. It showed they grew closer and Naruko was always affectionate for a ninja.
The two girls took in deep breaths and let them back out slowly. They eventually drifted off to sleep for the night. Fortunately, neither of them had dreams about trolls in bathrooms.