A/N A small mistake in chapter 4 was brought to my attention by mumimeanjudy. It has been fixed. Thank you.
Holly had had to promise Professor Snape that she would not retaliate against Pansy for her under-handed attempts at shooting her in the back, and Pansy had taken this to mean that Holly had been scared off by her, and she was taking every opportunity to make sure that everyone else believed it as well. Still, Holly kept her head down and went about her business as usual, trying to pay no mind to the whispers that followed her in the corridors.
Perhaps it was because she was so busy with homework, extra lessons with Dumbledore and Quidditch practice five nights a week, but Holly could scarcely believe that she had already been at Hogwarts for two months and hadn't had any trouble since that first week. Draco Malfoy now avoided even looking at her in the hallways between classes, and she had noticed him leave the common room whenever she would enter. It was a shame, she thought, that Pansy Parkinson didn't follow that example.
"Hey, Holly," Fay called from behind her. "Hey! Wait up!"
Holly snapped back to attention and turned to see Fay and Hermione running to catch up with her.
"Hey, where are you going?" Fay asked. "The Halloween feast is about to begin."
"I wasn't planning on going." Holly admitted. "You go on ahead."
"What do you mean?" Fay asked. "Are you feeling alright?"
Holly thought about that. Growing up, this time of year had always carried undertones of melancholia. Her godfather had known her parents, had grown up with them in Hogwarts and after. For all that, he barely spoke of them unless asked directly, and Holly had learned early on that those memories, while nice, still hurt the man that had taken her in. After a while she stopped asking to spare him.
"Oh! I can't believe…of course she's not alright, Fay." Hermione said. "Her parents died on Halloween."
"No, they were killed on Halloween." Holly corrected. "Murdered while protecting me." Both girls were silent. She looked away. "I just…I need to be alone."
Flinching, she felt two pairs of hands on either of her shoulders. "We're your friends, Holly." Hermione said softly.
"We're here for you." Fay said.
"You two…thank you. I really, really mean it." Holly turned to face them, tears in her eyes as they hugged.
"You're a mess." Fay said a few moments later, causing Hermione to scowl and Holly to laugh. "I know you don't want to go to the feast, but why don't you get cleaned up a bit and we'll call some elves to set a place for us in a disused classroom."
Holly nodded and entered the nearby girl's bathroom as she heard Hermione ask, "Elves?"
Holly turned on the tap and let the water run for a moment while looking in the mirror. She definitely looked as though she had been crying, and she hadn't even been aware of it. Breathing slowly, she began to rinse her face when she heard the bathroom door open and shut.
"Hey, I'm almost…" She stopped when she saw the identical looks of panic etched on both Fay and Hermione's faces. "What's the matter? What happened?"
Before either girl could answer, an explosion seemed to rock the entire castle as the heavy wooden door to the bathroom was reduced to splinters. Fay and Holly were knocked forward and hit their heads against the stone walls before crumpling to the floor.
"Fay!" Holly shouted. "Hermione!" Neither one moved.
Holly turned to see what had caused the explosion and felt an icy stab of fear in the pit of her stomach. It was a horrible sight. The creature stood twelve feet tall and had dull, granite grey skin. Its great lumpy body resembled a boulder with a small, bald head that looked more like a coconut perched on top. It had short legs, each as thick as a tree, with short, horned feet. In its hands was a small tree that was obviously being used as a club.
She recognized it immediately from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themas a Mountain Troll, though Newt Scamander had never managed to relate just how horrible a Mountain Troll could smell. He also never mentioned what methods to use in subduing one. Of course most people would opt to run from a fully grown Troll. Most people also wouldn't have to worry about two friends being a late dinner for the Troll if they ran away. Holly was not most people.
The Troll looked confused to see a small human girl standing in front of it, but Holly couldn't count on that for long. Already the creature's small brain was coming up with a solution that probably involved smashing the tree-club into said human girl.
Holding her wand steady, Holly shouted; "Pax!"
The spell, visible only as a slight ripple in the air, struck the dumb creature but didn't seem to have any effect other than to irritate it further. The troll swung its club and narrowly missed as Holly ducked out of the way. Wracking her brain, she started mentally reviewing the spells she had already learned in classes. Nothing she could think of would work, unless…
Holly fumbled with her bracers, trying to unlatch them but they held tight. The troll seemed to realize it hadn't struck Holly and began to heft its club for a second swing. Leaping out of the way, Holly managed to get one wrist free. Grinning, she stood up to face the troll, whose attention was now on the two prone figures at his feet. Her look of triumph turned to horror as the troll picked up Fay and Hermione in one large hand.
"Leave them alone, you…" Holly shouted, but her words were drowned out by a sound like rushing water. Her head throbbed violently as the bathroom started to fade from sight. "No…" she thought weakly. "No…not now…not…"
Struggling to keep her footing, she lifted her wand and shouted the first spell that came to mind. "Lacero!"
A jet of blood red energy shot from her wand and connected with the arm holding Hermione and Fay, severing it upon impact. The pressure in her head eased slightly, and she advanced on the Troll, wand held ready. The troll ignored her, regarding the stump where its arm once was. His expression shifted from curious to confused, and then to shock and pain. Letting out a vicious, snarling growl, he turned to Holly and raised his club to swing again.
Without thinking, Holly shouted the spell again. "Lacero!" the arm holding the club went high, severed in mid swing, and the club came crashing down on the troll's head, knocking him out cold. Holly regarded the dumb creature for a moment before bringing her wand down in a slashing motion aimed at the base of its neck.
At that point Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Sprout and the Headmaster entered the room. The bathroom was a mess of broken stalls and smashed sinks. Hermione and Fay were still unconscious on the floor. Water from the broken taps flooded down the drains and thick, red blood pooled on the floor at Holly's feet, pouring from the severed limbs and body of the Mountain Troll.
"What happened?" Headmaster Dumbledore seemed to be the first to recover his voice in the midst of such a scene. "Why aren't you in your common room?"
Holly looked from the dead troll to her friends and then back to the teachers before retelling the events of the night.
"I can vouch that Miss Potter was not at the feast tonight, Headmaster." Professor Snape said.
At that point Professor Quirrel ran in and came to a sudden stop. It took him a moment to notice what he had nearly slipped on, but when he saw the water diluted blood and the severed arms and head of the troll he nearly fainted.
"Let's get these students out of here," Professor McGonagall said, pulling her wand out and levitating Hermione and Fay out of the wreckage. "Miss Potter, follow me up to the Hospital Wing."
Holly wanted to protest that she felt fine, but knew that she wouldn't win the argument. Besides, she thought, at least this time she'd have some company during her stay.