"Chapter Ten," Colin called out, "Halloween."
The older students jolted, suddenly recalling what happened that year. Susan blinked, glancing at her aunt who was none the wiser.
The trio shared a smile.
"Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure and they were quite keen to have another one."
"Children," Minerva huffed. The others shook their heads despairingly
"In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.
'It's either really valuable or really dangerous,' said Ron.
'Or both,' said Harry."
"Good deduction," Kingsley commented, the other aurors nodding in agreement.
"But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.
Neither Neville or Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again."
"The smarter reaction," Harry admitted, sighing. Ron looked appalled while Hermione smiled approvingly.
"Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus."
Hermione felt a pang of hurt but knew that they really didn't have a great relationship before then. Harry glanced at her.
"I wouldn't change you for the world," Harry said quietly.
"A bossy know-it-all?" Hermione asked, amused. Ron grinned.
"In all your glory," Ron added.
All three laughed.
"All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived with the post about a week later.
As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor."
Harry smiled sadly, remembering his first broom. Ron patted his arm in sympathy.
"They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.
Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:
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 pitch at seven o'clock for your first training session.
Professor M. McGonagall
"It was rather obvious what it was, Professor," Cedric said, amused. The older students nodded.
"Yes, not very subtle," Pomona agreed, "it would have been better to give to him in your office instead of having it sent to him."
Minerva nodded apologetically.
"Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.
'A Nimbus Two Thousand!' Ron moaned enviously. 'I've never even touched one.'
They left the Hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first lesson, but halfway across the Entrance Hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it."
Multiple people rolled their eyes.
"Seriously, why are you always starting things with him? He never approaches you," Daphne asked, already annoyed by Draco's antics.
Draco didn't answer her, but was a bit concerned by the look on his mother's face. It was unseemly, he knew, to act like this but he couldn't help it. He was always annoyed by their confrontations but the "boy wonder" never seemed to really care. He wanted more of a reaction.
"'That's a broomstick,' he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. 'You'll be for it this time, Potter, first-years aren't allowed them.'
Ron couldn't resist it.
'It's not any old broomstick,' he said, 'it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?' Ron grinned at Harry. 'Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus.'
'What would you know about it, Weasley you couldn't afford half the handle,' Malfoy snapped back. 'I suppose you and your brothers have to save up, twig by twig.'"
The Weasley children all scowled at the boy, who shrunk down a bit with all the hostility coming his way. Molly and Arthur turned a bit red, upset their children were being treated like this because of their lack of fortune.
"Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.
'Not arguing, I hope, boys?' he squeaked.
'Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor,' said Malfoy quickly.
'Yes, yes, that's right,' said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry.
'Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?'"
"Nice timing Professor," Terry laughed, "Bet he didn't expect that."
Filius looked amused but would not participate in making fun of another student.
"'A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir,' said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. 'And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it,' he added."
"Ouch," Susan said, "that had to hurt."
Her and Hannah shared a grin as Harry smirked at the memory.
"Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.
'Well, it's true,' Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase. 'If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be in the team ...'
'So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?' came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand."
"She did have a point," Poppy said quietly, "even in first year he had been rewarded for breaking rules, like getting on the team for flying when he wasn't meant to. He's obviously not had a proper discipline system at home, probably being punished for no reason half the time. He'd have been learning his boundaries in that moment. If he gets rewarded for breaking the rules, I doubt he'd think it over as much the next time it happens."
The teachers all stared at her a moment, processing that. Minerva grimaced, going over instances in the last few years and just how inconsistent she was.
"We're going to need to discuss how to handle this," Poppy whispered to Minerva specifically, though others could hear, "he's going to need to talk with someone about rules and his trust for adults. We are his only consistent positive authority figures. If he doesn't trust us to do what's right, then he'll never come to us for help when it counts."
While the teachers were thinking this over, Colin had moved on.
"'I thought you weren't speaking to us?' said Harry.
'Yes, don't stop now,' said Ron, 'it's doing us so much good.'
Hermione marched away with her nose in the air."
"Why did you treat her so badly?" Remus asked, confused. He had always thought they were all close.
All three turned red.
"We were kids," Harry said quietly, "we didn't want her telling us what to do like she was a teacher herself." Hermione sighed, glancing at both boys.
"I didn't really get along with anyone in the house, at first, "Hermione admitted, "I was focused on learning and didn't really interact unless it had to do with schoolwork."
"This was a long while ago," Harry said quickly, "we're friends now and that's all we care about."
Remus nodded, glancing between the three before turning back to the reading.
"Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory, where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch pitch where he'd be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.
'Wow,' Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled on to Harry's bedspread.
Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top."
The quidditch fans all sighed in appreciation.
"As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off towards the Quidditch pitch in the dusk. He'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the pitch so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the pitch were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high."
The muggleborns all laughed.
"I thought that, too," Justin grinned when Susan and the others just looked confused.
"Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling – he swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the pitch. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch."
"Impressive," Krum nodded. Not many seekers could move through the goal posts without hitting them.
"Hey, Potter, come down!'
Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.
'Very nice,' said Wood, his eyes glinting. 'I see what McGonagall meant ... you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week.'"
The Gryffindor team sighed.
"Ah, I remember those times," Angelina said mournfully. Alicia nodded.
"Only three practices," Fred and George clarified to those around them who were confused.
"Only?" many of the players on other teams asked incredulously.
"Only," the Gryffindor team said solemnly.
"Mental," Padma declared, "you're all mental."
"He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.
'Right,' said Wood. 'Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players…
…through the hoops to score,' Harry recited. 'So – that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"
"Huh," Dean said, glancing up, "I guess it kind of is."
"What's basketball?" called out a few purebloods.
"Later," Professor Burbage said, sighing.
"'What's basketball?' said Wood curiously.
'Never mind,' said Harry quickly.
'Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper – I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring.'
'Three Chasers, one Keeper,' said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. 'And they play with the Quaffle. OK, got that. So what are they for?' He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.
'I'll show you now,' said Wood. 'Take this.'
He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a rounders bat."
The twins smirked.
"He just gave a first year that doesn't know Quidditch a bat?" Zacharias snorted, "bet that went well," he said sarcastically.
Harry smirked as others rolled their eyes at the arrogant boy.
"'I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do,' Wood said.
'These two are the Bludgers.'
He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.
'Stand back,' Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.
At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it breaking his nose and sent it zig-zagging away into the air – it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground."
"Nice," the twins said, looking at Harry.
"If you weren't such a good seeker, we could make you a reserve beater," George continued.
"'See?' Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. 'The Bludgers rocket around trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. The Weasley twins are ours – it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them towards the other team. So – think you've got all that?'
'Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goalposts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team,' Harry reeled off.
'Very good,' said Wood.
'Er – have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?' Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand."
"Subtle," Ron teased. Harry rolled his eyes and shoved his shoulder while others laughed around them.
"'Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers – '
'– unless they crack my head open.'"
"So optimistic," Fred shook his head.
"'Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers – I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves.'"
Said twins grinned.
"What a lovely compliment," Fred said, gleeful.
"Yes, I do believe we'll have to thank him for that," George agreed wholeheartedly.
On the training pitch for Puddlemere United, one reserve keeper got a sense of doom down his spine, unsure of the reason. His first thought was to blame the Weasley twins but figured that was a bit paranoid so went back to practicing.
"Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.
'This,' said Wood, 'is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages – I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.
The Quidditch fans sighed longingly.
"If only," Seamus lamented.
"'Well, that's it – any questions?'
Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.
'We won't practise with the Snitch yet,' said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate. 'It's too dark, we might lose it.
Let's try you out with a few of these.'
He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket, and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.
Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted."
The Gryffindors grinned while the other houses grumbled, impressed but not happy about it.
"After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.
'That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year,' said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. 'I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons.'"
Charlie snorted.
"I do not chase dragons," he argued before grinning, "though Harry apparently can."
Harry rolled his eyes as his friends laughed.
"Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realised that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive had ever done."
"It still does," Harry sighed happily, feeling another burst of warmth washing over him. He smiled glancing around at the school, wondering if Hogwarts did that for others.
"His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics."
"Well, at least there's that," Pomona said, amused.
"On Hallowe'en morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom."
The trio grimaced, already anticipating not enjoying this part.
"Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practise. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye)."
Harry and Neville both flushed.
"I'm sorry, Neville," Harry said, incredibly apologetic. Neville shook his head.
"I know I'm not good at most magic," he said but Harry cut him off.
"That's not true," he said forcefully, "you need to believe more in yourself. You psyche yourself out and it affects how magic itself responds to you. It's just like the broom. If you think it won't work, then it won't."
"Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this."
"I was," they both said, before mock frowning at each other. Harry rolled his eyes fondly as everyone else watched on, confused.
"She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.
'Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practising!' squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. 'Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too – never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest.'"
The other teachers rolled their eyes at the Charms professor's favorite joke.
"Truly Filius, you should find new material," Pomona said. Filius frowned.
"But it's a classic," he argued.
The others only shook their heads.
"It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skywards just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it – Harry had to put it out with his hat."
Seamus grinned sheepishly as his friends snickered.
"Thank goodness that doesn't happen as often now," Dean said, "I'm his partner most of the time."
Dean conveniently ignored the offended glare sent his way.
"Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.
'Wingardium Leviosa!' he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill."
"Harry," Ron groaned as students laughed.
"That would have never worked," Molly said, "there are wand movements for a reason." Ron didn't reply but hid an eye roll from his mother.
"'You're saying it wrong,' Harry heard Hermione snap. 'It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the "gar" nice and long.'
'You do it, then, if you're so clever,' Ron snarled.
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, 'Wingardium Leviosa!'
Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads."
"I doubt he liked that," Ernie muttered to Justin.
"'Oh, well done!' cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. 'Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!'
Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class."
"Uh oh," Fred said.
"Ron's temper is rather nasty," George agreed.
Arthur and Molly frowned, looking over at Ron who had turned red.
"'It's no wonder no one can stand her,' he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. 'She's a nightmare, honestly.'"
"Ronald Weasley!" Molly scolded.
Ron cringed away from her as Hermione was studying the floor intently. Harry watched both of them in dismay. This was not a good memory for anyone.
"Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face – and was startled to see that she was in tears."
Hermione turned red as Harry touched her shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm sorry," Ron whispered.
Hermione nodded, but didn't answer.
"'I think she heard you.'
'So?' said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. 'She must've noticed she's got no friends.'"
Many of the girls were beginning to glare at the boy who had slumped down.
"Well we can't really scold them for something that happened so long ago," Arthur sighed, "they've moved on from it so let's read on."
"Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Hallowe'en feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' toilets and wanted to be left alone."
Hermione smiled up at them.
"Thank you for coming to check on me. I never did say so, before," she said to them. Lavender and Parvati smiled.
"Of course, we're family, didn't you know?" Lavender teased. The Gryffindors laughed and Minerva felt a swell of pride inside her.
"Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Hallowe'en decorations put Hermione out of their minds."
"Lovely," Hermione told them, more amused than hurt.
They both gave her sheepish grins.
"To be fair, the Halloween feasts are always extravagant," Augusta sighed, "it's not entirely surprising it would distract them."
"A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.
Harry was just helping himself to a jacket potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped, 'Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know.'
He then sank to the floor in a dead faint."
The adults all turned towards the teachers table as Amelia rose in anger.
"There was a troll roaming loose in the school and we weren't made aware of it?!" she yelled.
The teachers looked towards Dumbledore who shifted uneasily.
"No student was harmed so it did not seem necessary to inform the authorities. We handled the troll just fine," he argued.
The trio glanced at each other, surprised by how he brushed off their near-death experience. More surprising was the suspicious glare Hermione shot the headmaster, before abruptly pulling out a piece of paper, scribbling notes onto it.
"There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.
'Prefects,' he rumbled, 'lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!'"
"Hey, wait," Harry called out, "I know I didn't realize it then, but he had just said the troll was in the dungeons. The Slytherins live down there and the Hufflepuffs are close by. Why send them towards the troll?" He asked.
"We didn't go down," Montague explained, mildly reluctant, "we stayed in the Great Hall until they said to leave."
Harry nodded, but Hermione had looked up.
"Why did you say to leave in the first place? Wouldn't it have been safer to keep everyone where they were, so you could know they're all accounted for?" she asked, a bit angry on her own behalf. If they had, Harry and Ron may have had a teacher to inform and they wouldn't have had to rescue her.
The teachers all glanced at each other.
"To be honest, everyone was a little frantic with the sudden announcement. I do not believe we were thinking properly," Minerva said apologetically directly towards Hermione as she was the most affected by this mismanagement.
Amelia frowned, but couldn't exactly refute the claim. She wouldn't have expected them to have protocols for something like this.
"Percy was in his element.
'Follow me! 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'm a Prefect!'
'How could a troll get in?' Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.
'Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid,' said Ron. 'Maybe Peeves let it in for a Hallowe'en joke.'"
"Peeves wouldn't do something so dangerous. He's a prankster, but he isn't malicious," George said. Fred nodded in agreement, having had many conversations with the poltergeist.
"They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.
'I've just thought – Hermione.'"
Many of the students and adults paled and turned towards the girl.
"But she wasn't in the dungeons," a student called out. A few relaxed, but most noticed the grim expression on the trio's face.
"It would have been safer if she had been," Harry said ominously.
The tension in the room rose.
"'What about her?'
'She doesn't know about the troll.'
Ron bit his lip.
'Oh, all right,' he snapped. 'But Percy'd better not see us.'"
Hermione glanced between the boys, feeling a mix of affection and hurt. She didn't know Harry's first thought was to go get her, unlike Ron who had been more concerned about getting in trouble. She consoled herself that he did save them, but the thought stuck in her mind.
Minerva shook her head, glad they thought of Miss Granger, but still wishing they'd have informed an adult. Of course, neither knew the troll would be up there with them, so she couldn't say they went racing after it.
"Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor and hurried off towards the girls' toilets. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.
'Percy!' hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.
Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.
"Why didn't you stop him for help," Molly asked disapprovingly.
"It was Snape," Harry pointed out, "he most likely wouldn't have listened and just punished us. We would have never gotten to Hermione."
Minerva glared over at the professor who had a sour look on his face.
"This is what happens when you treat the students so biasedly. They could have been killed," she hissed, almost feline in nature.
Amelia was of the same mindset, noting it down as Augusta made a mark in her own notes for the school board. She'd make sure the man never worked with children again, if possible.
'What's he doing?' Harry whispered. 'Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?'
'Search me.'
Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.
'He's heading for the third floor,' Harry said,"
Everyone looked towards the Potions Master who only sneered at the glances.
"Suspicious," Padma whispered to her friends.
"but Ron held up his hand.
'Can you smell something?'"
"Oh no," the adults all groaned, glancing at the two boys.
"Please tell me you ran far away," Molly whispered faintly. Ron and Harry looked at her apologetic but resolute. Remus grabbed Harry's arm tightly as Padfoot whined.
"Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.
And then they heard it – a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet."
The few students who didn't realize what was going on picked up quickly enough.
"But he said it was in the dungeons!" Cedric called out, glancing at the two boys. Harry grimaced.
"Ron pointed: at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving towards them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.
It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long."
Those who had never seen or read about trolls looked disgusted.
"Not pleasant," Harry said, frowning.
"The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.
'The key's in the lock,' Harry muttered. 'We could lock it in.'
'Good idea,' said Ron nervously."
"You didn't," Hermione deadpanned.
Harry bit his lip as Ron whistled, glancing away. Hermione groaned.
Nobody around them understood what was wrong, though the adults didn't want them going closer, it would help to keep it away from others.
"At least you didn't instantly try fighting it," Minerva sighed out.
"Hey, I try to stay out of trouble," Harry said indignantly, "it's trouble that chases me."
While most looked skeptical, his friends were amusedly resigned to that. Remus frowned, not liking that idea at all, though he wasn't as surprised after last year.
"They edged towards the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door and lock it.
'Yes!'
Flushed with their victory they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a high, petrified scream – and it was coming from the chamber they'd just locked up."
The room went still as everyone turned to Hermione in horror.
"That's the girl's bathroom!" Susan yelled out.
"We thought it was a cupboard," Harry explained.
"They didn't leave it in there with me on purpose," Hermione defended.
Now everyone was wondering exactly what the trio did, though a few had their suspicions.
The other two schools were rather shocked that this situation was happening at all. For such a famous school that prided itself on safety, quite a few unsafe things were happening. Many were growing more curious as the book went on. It was barely halfway through and they'd already encountered a troll at age eleven.
"'Oh, no,' said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.
'It's the girls' toilets!' Harry gasped.
'Hermione!' they said together.
It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic – Harry pulled the door open – they ran inside."
The adults all groaned as the students were both terrified and impressed. The twins were staring at the two curiously.
"How much do you reckon we've missed of their shenanigans?" Fred asked.
"More than we should have," George answered mildly.
"Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.
'Confuse it!' Harry said desperately to Ron, and seizing a tap he threw it as hard as he could against the wall."
"Not a bad strategy, trolls aren't the brightest creatures," Amelia commented, her auror mentality popping up.
"The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went."
Remus' pulled Harry against him in a death grip. Harry felt warmth flow through him and smiled slightly. It was nice to know he was worried as Harry didn't often have that kind of feeling sent his way.
"'Oy, pea-brain!' yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout towards Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.
'Come on, run, run!' Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror."
Ron and Harry both grabbed Hermione's hands comfortingly. She smiled wanly at them.
"I don't think many people would be able to think properly in that moment," Hannah whispered to her friends. They all shook their heads, not wanting to imagine their own reactions.
"The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape."
Molly had pulled Ron up into a crushing hug. He turned a bit red but allowed her the comfort as his family watched in concern.
"Mum, I'm fine. It didn't do anything to me," he soothed, glancing at Harry and Hermione.
"Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid:"
"What'd you do?" Remus asked, dread flooding him. Harry bit his lip, running a hand down Padfoot who was shaking. He really didn't need a transformed godfather to pop up right now.
"he took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind."
"Harry!" a collective shout rang out as everyone looked at him in shock.
"Mr. Potter, that was a very stupid thing to do," Amelia scolded, glancing over the boy as though looking for wounds.
Harry shifted uncomfortably, feeling a bit winded with a worried werewolf nearly squeezing his chest.
"It was heading towards Ron. I had to do something," Harry defended.
"And your first thought was to jump on its back?" Daphne asked incredulously, looking as though she was questioning his sanity. Many others had a similar look on their faces.
"It worked," Harry said.
"That does not make it a good plan," Remus said.
"I was eleven. I didn't know any magic that would stop a troll. If I didn't do something then either Ron or Hermione would have gotten hurt," Harry reasoned.
"And if you had gotten hurt?" Remus asked angrily. "What then?" Harry paused, glancing at Remus unsurely.
"Then Ron and Hermione would have time to get away," he answered feebly. Remus' eyes began to glow brighter as he turned Harry to face him. He looked at the boy, one of his last family members left.
"You listen to me Harry James Potter. Your life is not worth less than anyone else's and damn anybody who would suggest it. I am proud you'd fight for your friends, but don't you dare throw your life away so carelessly. Sacrificing yourself is not the answer. Do you hear me?" Remus stared straight into Harry's eyes as a hush fell over the room. Seconds or minutes passed as Harry's thoughts ran.
Harry's eyes glistened as he nodded slightly, not entirely convinced, but Remus would repeat himself a thousand times until Harry understood.
"You cannot leave me and Sirius," Remus whispered, "neither of us would survive it."
Harry gulped, looking down at the black dog who was staring intently at them both, frustration and sadness in his eyes.
"I'll try not to," Harry said quietly.
Remus nodded, satisfied for the moment before glancing at Colin, who began reading again.
"The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils."
Many of the girls grimaced in disgust.
"Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club."
The younger years whimpered as Ron and Hermione shivered at the memory, glancing at their friend who was still being wrapped in his pseudo uncle's arms.
"Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand – not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: 'Wingardium Leviosa!'"
A few Slytherins looked over disdainfully, not expecting the spell to work.
"Didn't he just fail using that during class?" Mandy asked Padma who nodded.
Filius looked over at the boy curiously.
"The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over – and dropped, with a sickening crack, on to its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble."
Half the hall looked over at Ron who went a bit red at the attention.
"Seriously?" Susan asked.
"You can't do it in class, but with a giant troll threatening you, you get it right?" Hannah finished.
Ron flushed as many gazes turned impressed. Arthur was smiling at his son, proud and relieved. His brothers and sister all grinned at him.
"Way to go ronniekins," the twins yelled. Ron snorted, rolling his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.
"Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done."
"It was a bit shocking,' Ron mused to Hermione and Harry, who both smiled at their friend.
"Well, I'm glad your ability to learn activates with dangerous situations," Harry teased. Ron punched his arm lightly as Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Boys," she muttered.
"It was Hermione who spoke first.
'Is it – dead?'
'I don't think so,' said Harry. 'I think it's just been knocked out.'
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.
'Urgh – troll bogies.'
He wiped it on the troll's trousers."
"Still gross," Harry gagged exaggeratedly. Remus chuckled, his grip lightening in relief.
"A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realised what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart."
"Terrible choice for a Defense teacher," Amelia muttered, annoyed, looking at the book suspiciously.
"Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind."
"I was running on the adrenaline," Harry defended when everyone looked over at him. Ron clapped his shoulder.
"Don't worry, mate, I thought it'd be a hundred," Ron grinned as their Head of House sighed.
"'What on earth were you thinking of?' said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. 'You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?'
Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
'Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me.'"
Everyone glanced at Hermione, who bit her lip self-consciously. This was the first time she ever lied to a teacher before.
"'Miss Granger!'
Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.
'I went looking for the troll because I – I thought I could deal with it on my own – you know, because I've read all about them.'"
"Little Hermione Granger lying to a teacher," Fred said in shocked awe. Hermione turned red.
"You three are just full of surprises," George stared at them as the other students were also getting over their surprise.
Minerva shook her head, not incredibly shocked. It seemed obvious later that night that Hermione's story was unlikely to be true, but nobody was hurt and she wanted to move on.
"Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?"
The other students all nodded, not quite believing it either. Harry smirked a bit, glancing at his friend.
"If they're so surprised by that, I can't imagine their reactions to everything else you do," Harry whispered teasingly.
Hermione looked mortified.
"'If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now."
Amelia nodded, glaring at the teachers.
"Unfortunately, that part is true," she said angrily, "this should have been reported. Albus, I am very quickly losing any reason to keep you in that chair you love so much," she threatened.
Dumbledore paled slightly, beginning to regret allowing these books to be read. Not that he could have stopped it, of course.
"Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived.'
Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them."
Their housemates snorted.
"You're both awful liars," Dean informed them, "Ron tends to match his hair and Harry just can't seem to come up with proper lies." Both boys huffed.
"I don't lie often enough to practice, so excuse my amateur attempts," Harry said sarcastically. Their friends only snickered.
"'Well – in that case ...' said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them. 'Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?'"
"You bought that?" Filius asked, glancing at Minerva in amusement.
"I was in a bit of a shock seeing them next to a knocked-out troll," she defended.
The teachers nodded sympathetically.
"Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets."
Many of the students shivered at that mental picture.
"Oh yeah, that wasn't something I needed to see," Fred said, ignoring the glare sent his way by the professor himself.
"'Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this,' said Professor McGonagall. 'I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses.'
Hermione left.
Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.
'Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go.'"
"Not that I disapprove of the points, since they did actually try to help a fellow student, but I hope they were given detention or something to show this shouldn't be repeated," Filius glanced at Minerva.
"Albus said he would handle it. I expect he spoke with them," she looked over at the Headmaster who did not look at any of his teachers. They both frowned.
"Albus, you did speak with them, correct?" Minerva asked.
"I saw no reason to do such a thing," Dumbledore said lightly, not looking at any of the teachers who were now staring at him.
"You did nothing to show them this was wrong?" Amelia asked incredulously.
"How would they learn from this if you didn't tell them how to go about problems better?" Augusta added.
"They'll begin to think it's okay to repeat actions like this when circumstances pop up," Filius frowned, "especially for Mr. Potter as he's had no proper authority figure before."
Albus Dumbledore did not answer and the faith and respect his staff and students had in him dropped the further they read.
"They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.
'We should have got more than ten points,' Ron grumbled."
The teachers sighed.
"While impressive, Mr. Weasley, we do not approve of students risking their lives in this school," Pomona said lightly, though she glanced at the headmaster uncertainly.
"'Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's.'
'Good of her to get us out of trouble like that,' Ron admitted. 'Mind you, we did save her.'"
"She wouldn't have been in there if it weren't for you," Megan Jones pointed out from the Hufflepuff table.
Ron felt a twinge of guilt in his chest, but made no comment.
"'She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her,' Harry reminded him."
"At least one of them admitted to it," Justin whispered.
"They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
'Pig snout,' they said and entered.
The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said
'Thanks', and hurried off to get plates.
But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."
Hermione glanced over at Harry in amusement as everyone else shook their heads in amazement.
"What a way to start a friendship," Padma commented, looking over at the three.
"But what about all their fights?" Terry asked.
The Gryffindors all glanced at each other, knowing that there were still plenty of arguments in the trio. Hermione for her part was staring at Harry in amusement.
"I'm pretty sure I'm remembering that week after differently than you. It was all incredibly awkward until you had Ron apologize for his earlier comments and proceeded to apologize yourself," she pointed out. Harry flushed.
"I counted you as a friend the moment you lied to protect us," he said quietly.
Hermione smiled at Harry as everyone around them watched the trio in exasperated confusion.