Author's Note: I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.
Thanks for the continuous support on the story.
After that incident, Hermione wasn't seen or heard from all day. It came time for the feast of the evening but Hermione was still absent from the post-potions mishap. During their free lessons, Harry, Zoe and Neville looked for her, but couldn't find their friend. They vowed to look again after the feast, as all four being gone for an hour would look incredibly suspicious. They had reported the missing student to Professor McGonagall but she wasn't able to find her either. This was known throughout Gryffindor house in all of the age groups. A startling pair of hands tapped Harry on the shoulder and interrupted the treacle tart that Harry reluctantly bit into. Staring down at him were the two most notorious troublemakers, besides Peeves the Poltergeist, in the entire school.
Fred and George Weasley had heard in their transfiguration lesson that Hermione was missing from the head of Gryffindor house and wanted to help. They knew how to kill two birds with one stone. This would hopefully be some sort of apology for their brother Ron's behaviour. Harry asked with a solemn tone "Oh, hey Fred, George. It isn't the best time right now. I don't know if you've heard but Hermione has gone missing." They replied in their disturbing twin-speak "Oh we know that Harry. We want to help, that's why we're giving you this. It's sort of an apology for Ron's behaviour, he gets like this when he doesn't get what he wants." They simultaneously handed Harry what looked like a battered old piece of Parchment. Looking at Harry's questioning expression, they explained: "Tap it with your wand and it becomes a map of Hogwarts after saying 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good', updated with all of the current whereabouts of everyone in the castle. To close it again, say 'Mischief managed'"
Looking at the grateful expression and hearing "Thanks so much, guys" from Harry, they walked off, satisfied with their good deeds, yet slightly disheartened that they couldn't use it to prank Filch anymore. Harry used the instructions for the map and his jaw dropped when he saw who's names had appeared as the purveyors. 'Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs Proudly present the Marauders Map'. His father, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Lupin along with someone else had created this useful Map. Zoe too gawked at the names but went straight to looking for Hermione. Before they could find her, however, Professor Quirrell ran straight to the centre of the hall before screaming "Troll, Troll in the dungeons. Thought you ought to know" and promptly fainted in front of Harry and Neville.
The great hall was in utter chaos, with students from all years running towards the exit and as far from the dungeons as possible. Only the booming voice of Professor Dumbledore could console them, though Harry and Zoe wondered why they listened to the old fool. "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately, follow your prefects." The elderly wizard shouted to the masses. There was one reason to not do what he says already. He was sending all of the students to their dorms yet, failed to repeat to the clueless Prefects or the bumbling Slytherins that the Troll was in the dungeons, exactly where the troll was said to be. The voice of Uncle Vernon for some reason shouted in Zoe's head 'Crackpot Old Fool!' She chuckled at this, even though the Déjà vu hadn't made sense as Uncle Vernon had never said that.
Harry frantically searched all over the castle and found Hermione standing in front of the sinks in the girl's bathroom. Why Harry's father and Uncles could map out the girl's bathroom, he would ask later, but he had gladly found Hermione. Then the reality hit the pair, she didn't know about the troll. Harry signalled for Zoe and Neville to come with him to the bathroom and they followed, with Zoe filling Neville in on the way. When they turned a corner and heard loud, thudding footsteps, they backed up against the wall behind a suit of armour. The troll walked past the hallway and looked straight at the suit of armour that stood against the wall. It decided that a piece of chainmail wasn't worth its time. "That's a fully grown mountain troll, its skin can't be penetrated by most magic, especially first-year magic. So cutting charms are off the table." Zoe said as Neville just looked at her in bewilderment. She answered his look "I read a lot of magical creatures books."
They followed the map but realised that the hall only had two entrances, the girl's bathroom and the caretaker's cupboard. The troll was on a direct course for the bathroom that Hermione was in. Harry bolted through Zoe's outstretched arms that were meant to stop him running in, figurative guns blazing, straight to Hermione. He felt so angry at the Weasel for putting Hermione through all of this and vowed revenge later. The troll had found Hermione. She looked up at the beast and screamed for help. Luckily Harry had slid through the troll's legs due to the wet floor from broken sink pipes and had run to Hermione's aid.
He cast a protego that was strong enough to hold the hulking beast back from the frightened girl. Zoe rushed in, seconds later and along with Neville's help, they managed to distract the troll. Neville shot a stunning spell at the troll's eye and temporarily blinded it. This gave Zoe the chance to freeze it in place with a powerful "Immobulus" and to finish off the attacker Hermione stepped in. She stepped around the shield, used the hover charm to levitate the club and left it to slam down onto the ugly thing's head. The troll fell to the floor after swaying around slightly and crashed into the tiles with an earth-shattering *THUD*.
The horde of Professors just stood, watching the scene with immense pride and fear. They had arrived after Hermione had used the Levitation charm to knock the troll out cold. Professor McGonagall was the first to break out of her stupor and rushed over to her Gryffindors to check on them. "What were you thinking, you could have died, you could have been pulverised? What were you all doing here?" Hermione answered, thinking of how the other three must feel. "It wasn't their fault Professor. They came to look for me after I had been in here during the feast and they saw the troll trying to kill me. If they hadn't done something, I'd probably be dead." She didn't hold back the truth exactly, but she had left out the reason why she wasn't at the feast because she was embarrassed about her own emotional fragility.
Author's Note: Yes Hermione is going to become as you know her in the later books, but I wanted to get her friendship with Harry, Zoe and Neville solidified first. It also helps that by the end of the Philosophers Stone she is a confident and friendly person, so I can implement this aspect of her character into the story when it is done.