Ciara didn't even try hiding her smug look when Malfoy came down for breakfast. She knew he expected them to be gone, not sitting at the breakfast table cracking jokes. The teachers weren't sitting at the table yet, most likely still preparing for the day.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here," Draco hissed viciously. His grey eyes were wild with rage and his hair, which was usually styled perfectly, now seemed to be standing up straight, almost reminding her of Harry's hair.

Harry wears the messy hair better, Ciara thought.

She didn't notice Harry smiling into his goblet.

She grinned smugly at her cousin's crazed and angered look. "What," she questioned, "You thought we were going to get caught? Maybe expelled?"

The flush on his face was all the answer she needed.

Ron laughed loudly, "Gonna have to try harder than that Malfoy!"

He turned his glare to Ron, "At least I don't have to worry about where my next meal is coming from, Weasley. You'd probably-"

As fast as lightning, Ciara rose to her feet and grabbed Darco's collar, dragging him towards her. His grey eyes suddenly shone with fear as her brown eyes bore dangerously into his. In that moment, Harry and Ron were gone. Only Ciara and Draco existed in the moment. As Ciara stared into his grey eyes certain memories surface in her mind. How her Uncle Lucius was always neglectful towards her and Draco, or the first time he used the Cruciatus on her.

The first time he used it on Draco.

They were five the first time the Cruciatus curse was used on them. It had been the four year anniversary of Lord Voldemort's defeat and every single lead he had turned up to be a dead end.

In short, Lucius Malfoy was furious.

In all honesty, Ciara could remember what exactly happened. All she knew was that one minute they were sneaking into the kitchen, the next a vase (a real ugly one) was on the ground broken. That was all it had taken to set him off. They had taken off down the halls. But their short legs were no match for Lucius.

"Curcio!" He had shouted, and the spell slammed into Ciara's shoulder. The agonizing pain hit her before she could begin to process what had happened. Her screaming sliced through the manor and played through the air like a broken record.

"Stop it," Draco had shouted, "Leave her alone!"

It only took half a second, but the curse was quickly transferred onto him. Soon, the screams in the manor that had been Ciara's soon became Draco's. As he withered on the floor, Ciara could only stare weakly at him and reach for him. "Draco," she whispered, but it was all lost to his screams.

That was the difference between her and Draco; Draco always learned the lesson quicker than she did.

Or, rather, Draco always learned his lesson.

Ciara never did.

"Leave us alone Malfoy, before I make you," her voice was stone cold, her eyes never betraying the whirlwind of emotions that she was feeling on the inside. As soon as she realised his collar, he scrambled away like, as Ron put it, 'the slimy snake he is.'

"Bloody hell, Ciara," Ron exclaimed, "I don't understand why you don't just punch him in the nose already."

"Violence never did good for anyone, Ron," she said after swallowing her food, "And me and Draco are one of the same. The only difference is that he learned his lesson. I never did."

Though the meaning was completely lost to Ron, it wasn't lost to Harry. Because he knew. He knew what it was like to grow up in an abusive home (if he was willing to accept that's what it was.) He knew what it was like to have lessons being taught with violence, to be hurt so bad by someone you were supposed to trust. He knew what it was like to stay up late and wonder, wonder if anyone out there in the world cared for you.

He knew.

So while Ron went back to eating his breakfast (and talking about Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand), Harry stared at Ciara in concern, waiting to see if she would say anything about her speech earlier. Her eyes met his across the table and she sent him a small smile as she chewed her food.

She didn't say about how she didn't want to fight with her cousin. She didn't say anything about how she was tired about the feud between the purebloods and muggleborns, she didn't say how she was scared about what was going to happen to her at the end of the year, when she had to return to Malfoy Manor and back to that demon of a mother.

She didn't say anything. And neither did he.

So he just passed her a breakfast roll as they both pretended that they were fine.

They were really good at pretending.

✨?￢ﾚﾡ

Halloween sucked, to put it frankly.

Make no mistake, Ciara loved the decorations. With thousands of live bats flying from the walls to the ceiling and the floating pumpkins with flickering candles in them, it was extremely hard not to be amazed by every in the Great Hall.

The food looked even better.

There were several stuffed Turkeys on the table, but they all managed to take Ciara's breath away. There were several other dishes that made her mouth water; cream corn, the ham (both baked and fried), cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, gravy, rolls, and tons of other dishes that she didn't know the name for.

They were amazing, fantastic even.

But she couldn't enjoy them after what happened earlier.

Ron was sulking again.

Ciara rolled her eyes at his whining, she honestly didn't see the big deal with Hermione mastering the levitation charm before him. Though Hermione had mastered it first, it was only because Ron told her to do it since she was so clever.

His words, not hers.

"It's LeviOsa, not LeviosAA," Ron mocked in a high pitched voice. Hermione didn't even sound like that. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he complained to Harry and Ciara as the trio pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Ciara glared at Ron, but before she could chew him, Hermione pushed past her and Harry, rushing down the corridor.

There were tears on her face.

"I think she heard you," Harry whispered.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Ciara snapped, spinning around and smacking Ron clean across his face with her books. "You're terrible, Ron Weasley!" She cried, her face alight with anger, "You yell at Malfoy for being a bully, but then you turn around and do the same thing to Hermione! You terrible, Ron! Terrible!"

She didn't give Ron a chance to answer before she dashed off after Hermione.

She had only been at the feast for a few minutes and that was only to find out where Hermione had gone. She barely took in all of the decorations or admired the food properly. All she wanted to do was find Hermione. After learning from Parvati Patil that Hermione was hiding in the bathroom (and stealing a few rolls for the road) she was fully prepared to leave the feast and go find Hermione.

Except, at that moment, Professor Quirrell came running into the Great Hall, a look of terror on his face.

"TROLL! — IN THE DUNGEONS! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!" The Great Hall fell into silence and the teachers stared at him in concern. "Thought you ought to know," he whispered before he sank to the floor in a dead faint.

Chaos ensued. Students began screaming and running for the doors. Ciara would have lost Harry and Ron in the crowd if the former hadn't had a grip on her arm.

Purple firecrackers exploding from Professor Dumbledore's, effectively bringing silence. His voice was loud, holding an authoritative tone, but he still spoke calmly. "Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy leaped into action immediately, jumping to his feet and shouting at all of the Gryffindor students. "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!"

Harry was still holding onto her arm as they made their way down the corridor, taking the familiar route towards the Gryffindor Common room.

Harry suddenly came to a stop, keeping Ron and Ciara back with him.

"What is it?"

"Hermione doesn't know."

Ciara felt her heart plunge into her stomach and she turned on her heel, running towards the bathroom. She ignored Harry and Ron's calls from behind her, opting to continue running. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Har-!"

He placed his hand over her mouth and pressed a finger to his lips before he pointed to the corridor that she was about to go down. With some hesitance, she peeked around the corridor.

Her stomach dropped.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, 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.

The smell was almost as bad as the sight. It smelt like a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. Her face scrunched up at the smell.

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. Ciara stared at the room with wide eyes, "Guys wait-!"

But Harry had already leaped up and grabbed the key, slamming the door, and locking it. "Yes!" The boys cheered while Ciara stared at them in horror, "You idiots! That's the girls' bathroom! And you just locked it in there!"

Before the boys could fully process what she said, — a high, petrified scream came from the chamber they'd just locked.

"Oh no," Ron whispered.

"Hermione!" they all shouted. Ciara grabbed the key out of Harry's hand and unlocked the door as quickly as she could. She was scared, they all were, but Hermione was in danger, they had to do something!

And they weren't in the house of the brave for nothing.

As soon as the door was open, they all rushed in as quickly as they could. 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.

Ciara picked up a broken piece of the sink and chucked as hard as she could at the troll's head, "Get away from her!" The jagged stone sailed through the air and hit the back of the troll's head with a loud THUNK!

It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Ciara and it started for her instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, throwing a metal pipe at it. Harry was beside him, throwing pieces of broken bathroom stalls at the troll to pull it away from the girls.

Away from Ciara.

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 toward Ron instead, giving Ciara time to run towards Hermione.

She grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards the exit. "Come on, run, run!" she yelled at Hermione, but it was almost like she was frozen, staring at the troll with her mouth open with terror. The roar of the troll pulled Ciara's attention away from Hermione and she turned just in time to see the troll start toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

She also got to see her best friend do something incredibly stupid.

Harry took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. The troll didn't seem to feel Harry hanging there, but after Harry shoved his wand up it's nose, it definitely noticed him.

Ciara didn't know whether to be disgusted or horrified.

So she was both.

"Harry!" she cried, both out loud and telepathically as the troll twisted and flailed its club, howling in pain. Harry's face was white as the Bloody Baron's and he was clinging on for dear life as the troll tried to hit him with its club.

Hermione fell to the ground with fright and she nearly took Ciara down with her. The movement caught the troll's attention and it stomped on a piece of glass in its haste to get to them. It roared in pain again and stumbled backwards. If it fell, it would crush Ron.

"Colloshoo!" Ciara shouted and the troll's feet became glued to the ground, unable to move. The troll was swinging the club again and was now trying to hit Ciara. She turned away and closed her eyes swiftly. She hoped it was quick.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The sound of the spell made Ciara snap her eyes open and she gasped at the sight. The club was out of the troll's hand, rising higher and higher up into the air, before it turned over slowly and—

CRACK!

It landed on the troll's head with a sickening crunch. He swayed on his feet, and whether it was the fact that the Hex was weak, or the fact that Ciara was still a first year and had only been practicing magic for a little under two months, the spell wore off. The troll fell flat on its face, with a loud and almighty THUD!

Harry got to his feet, shaky and out of breath and he didn't have time to prepare himself before Ciara tackled him in a hug. 'I thought I was gonna lose you,' she thought, and Harry could sense the fear in her statement. He gripped her tightly and gave a simple reply, 'You won't.'

That was all she needed to hear.

When they pulled away, Hermione had joined them, all of the first years staring at the troll. Ron's wand still raised, staring at what he had done. "Is it dead," he finally questioned.

"I don't think so. Just knocked out," Harry said as he reached down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue slime. They all stared at it in disgust. "Urgh – troll boogers," Harry said as he wiped it on the troll's trousers.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. They hadn't realized 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.

Professor McGonagall stared at Ron and Harry with fury etched onto her features. Ciara had never seen her look so angry, she was pressing her lips together so hard that they were white.

Ciara felt herself wilt under her gaze. "What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Ron still had his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Both Ron and Harry stumbled over their words in their haste to answer, but a small voice made them both fall silent.

"Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Everyone's eyes shifted towards Hermione, while she still looked pale and shaky, spoke clearly without a hint of fear in her voice. "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."

Harry, Ron, and Ciara shared a look of disbelief.

Hermione Granger? Telling a downright lie to a teacher?

What has the world come to?

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now." Hermione continued, either oblivious to the shock she was causing or ignoring it. "Harry stuck his wand up its nose while Ciara made its feet stick to the floor. Ron finished it off by knocking 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."

Professor McGonagall studied each of the four students, as if looking for a sign that would tell her the story was false. And, the students in turn, acted like this story wasn't new to them.

"I see," Professor McGonagall said after a few moments of silence, "Well — in that case . . . Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione bowed her head, shame practically rolling off her shoulders. Ciara couldn't tell if the shame was for playing a part of the story or from lying to her head of house.

She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," Professor McGonagall continued. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower."

Hermione spared them one more glance before she left.

Professor McGonagall turned to the trio. "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."

They all hurried out of the bathroom, running into Hermione who was waiting for them. "I didn't want to walk alone," she said, answering their unspoken question.

"Well, thank you for getting us out of trouble back there," Harry said as they continued their march. "Says you," Ron retorted, "We did just save her life!"

"Well mind you, her life wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't insulted her," Ciara snapped. Ron glanced her way for a moment and quickly coward under her steely glare. "Right," he said after a moment of silence, "Sorry."

The silence ensued once again before Ciara glanced over at Hermione, "You didn't eat lunch, did you?"

"No. Why?"

Ciara came to a stop and brushed her hands off on her skirt. The others stopped shortly after she did. "What are you doing?" Ron questioned, sass leaking from his voice. Instead of giving into her urge to snap back at him, she pulled three rolls out of her pocket.

"I snagged them from the table before Professor Quirrell came in screaming," she passed one out to everyone, before taking her own out of her pocket and biting into it. "Th're a little mashed," she said with a mouth full of food, "Bu' th're still really goo'!"

The other three took one look at her face, which greatly resembled a chipmunk, and started laughing.

And, as they walked the corridors and ate their rolls, a beautiful, lifelong friendship was born.