Chapter Seven: Are You Trolling Me?

The warmth of an artificial sun warmed Harry's skin as he sat in the cool grass, his bare feet dangling over a small ridge and into the lake. Glancing around the dome-shaped cavern, he once again marveled at what Professor Flitwick, Sprout, and Mr. Scamander had created for him and Selena.

He was in the suitcase that now housed his Basilisk friend, as he often was in his down time. It was peaceful here, and though the persistent, tropical warmth was something he was still getting used to, the cool lake water made it bearable.

He'd been at Hogwarts for a little more than a month now. Today was Halloween, and amidst the buzz of excitement for the Halloween feast, Harry had found himself retreating away from the people and into the suitcase more often. He still preferred quiet and solitude over the hustle and bustle of large groups.

His gaze fell to the lake as Selena swam up from under the water like a small anaconda. She'd grown a bit more over the last month—Harry was quickly learning that she had sporadic growth spurts, during which time she grew massively more than any other snake species.

Her latest spurt had brought her up to five feet long—about the same size as a fully grown ball python. Even though she was just a tenth of her eventual full size, it still amazed him how quickly she had gone from a tiny worm into this larger, more dependable reptile.

She surfaced and flicked her tongue out to taste the air and catch a breath. Selena loved swimming. The cool water soothed her scales when she needed to shed, which happened frequently during her growth spurts.

"How was the swim?"

"Soothing," she hummed back, sliding out of the lake and climbing onto the bank to curl up beneath the warmth of the artificial sun. Harry set a hand on her back and gently stroked the wet scales, providing her with a little extra warmth.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not now. Perhaps later," she replied. "But it is nearly your dinner time. Do you need to return to your room?"

"No," he answered. "I can wait a bit longer."

They sat in content silence for a while as Harry absently stroked her lithe, serpentine body. She was almost too big to fit in his hood at this point. Often times, she had to curl around his arm or neck several times over for him to carry her properly. He wasn't looking forward to the day she would eventually be too big for him to carry.

Harry pulled his wand out and pointed it at the water. He had one of his books out beside him, giving him a chance to safely experiment with the spells he read about. "Aguamenti."

Selena's head turned as a jet of clear water shot from Harry's wand and flew into the lake. He'd been practicing that particular conjuring charm often, but was always careful not to produce so much water that the lake flooded. It was entertaining for her to watch him learn about and harness magic. Well, as long as it was within reason, of course.

He'd attempted the ice charm, Glacius, not long ago and accidentally frozen over the whole top layer of her lake. She had not enjoyed waiting for the artificial sun to melt the thin sheet, as the cold temperature might've sent her into shock and kept her from swimming.

But Harry was careful, and he'd yet to cause an explosion like a few of his other classmates, which Selena very much so appreciated seeing as he was using her home.

He liked casting elemental spells, although admittedly all forms of magic he'd learned so far were fascinating to him. But he had a particular fondness for nature, and the forces of the elements. As long as he was careful, of course.

He wasn't going to try using a flame charm without careful preparation.

Harry cut the flow of magic and nodded in satisfaction as the water ceased to erupt from the tip of his wand. He was getting better at those fine controls, but it would be a while before he mastered it. Amidst the silence and the peaceful air of the cavern, he glanced at Selena with a slightly curious expression.

"Selena?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever wondered if you'd get along with another snake?"

Selena lifted her head to regard him. "What's brought this on?"

"You've been spending a lot more time in here when I'm in class," he told her. "And I…well, I wondered if you got lonely here by yourself."

"Solitude is something I can survive, Harry. It's not as though I do not get to enjoy your presence at all."

"I know, but…" Harry cocked his head as he lifted his hand to scratch the Basilisk beneath her chin. "I worry about you. I don't want you to be lonely if you don't need to be."

"Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary," Selena hummed to him softly. "But if it should put you at ease, I would be accepting of another serpent sharing my home, as long as they understand not to push my boundaries."

"I'll look into it, then," Harry told her, smiling.

"If that makes you happy," she replied, then pushed his hand away from her with her snout. "Now begone with you. I wish to bask for a while longer and you require food. Go and eat."

Harry chuckled and stood up, stretching before he retreated out of the cave and to the exit. Selena curled up a bit more and stared over the water to rest as her master left her to her peace.

Harry was on his way to the Great Hall, his suitcase securely at his side and held in place by a strap that wrapped over his opposite shoulder. It made carrying the large object much easier, especially since he never went anywhere without it.

"Harry!" He paused mid-step on his way down the stairs and glanced back up to see a familiar pink ponytail bouncing down after him. Despite his general misgivings about human company, he cracked a smile.

"Hey, Nym."

"Wotcher," she greeted, grinning at him. "How've you been? Seems like it's been ages since we caught up. Classes have kept me so busy!"

"Same here," he agreed, walking down the stairs beside his friend. Were they friends? He supposed they were, even though he didn't get to see Nym nearly as often as Hermione or Ron. Well, he got along with Hermione better than Ron, mostly because they were both fascinated by magic and Ron could be a bit lazy about his studies, but the ginger boy wasn't bad company. He was a bit overbearing and excitable at times, like Nym could be.

It was just something Harry was taking time getting used to.

"How's Selena doing?"

That was a big difference between Nym and Ron, he realized. She enjoyed Selena and often asked about her. Ron, on the other hand, was not a fan of the Basilisk. Not that Harry could blame him—snakes weren't for everyone.

"She's doing well," Harry told her. "She's getting bigger again. I've been toying with the idea of getting her a friend, too."

"Like another snake?" Nym asked curiously. "Are you going to try and make another Basilisk?"

"No way," he shook his head. "I don't think I could get away with that a second time now that I know they're illegal to create."

"You're a Parselmouth, though," she pointed out. "You're kind of an exception to the rules where magical snakes are concerned."

"Maybe," he admitted as they finally reached the end of the stairs. "But I don't want to make another Basilisk unless Selena specifically asks me to. I'm not sure I could handle another one right now, anyways. I was thinking of getting something smaller and a bit less dangerous."

"Gotcha," Nym hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe we could visit Diagon Alley over the winter break? They might have some common snake species there."

"Maybe," he inclined his head as they approached the Great Hall.

"Hey, do you mind if I pop in later and check out the suitcase?" Nym asked. "I'm dying to know what Selena's home looks like!"

Harry thought about that and shrugged. "Sure. She'd probably enjoy the company."

Nym snorted. "She'll probably complain. What does she call me all the time? 'Loud one', isn't it?"

That got him to crack a smile. "Something like that."

"Sweet. I'll catch up with you later, then!" Nym told him before heading off to join the rest of the 'Puffs. Harry waved after her, then turned and walked to the Gryffindor table, casting his eyes out to look for his tiny group of friends.

He spotted Ron at last and sat down across from him, and beside Neville. Dean and Seamus were sitting on either side of Harry's ginger friend (well, one of his ginger friends) and each offered him a grunt when he greeted them, seeing as their mouths were full of food.

Harry glanced at Neville when he failed to spot the familiar mess of curly brown hair. "You seen Hermione?"

Neville cast Ron a brief look before facing Harry and muttering under his breath. "I heard some of the other girls say she was holed up in one of the stalls in the girl's bathroom. They said she'd been there all afternoon, crying."

Harry felt annoyance rise up in his stomach as he turned his head to level a mild glare at Ron, who returned his aggravation with a meek shrug. The boy had been a prat after Charm's class today, where Hermione had excelled in casting a levitation charm that Ron failed. He must've taken her display of knowledge in a negative light, because he'd been loudly mocking Hermione after class was over.

Clearly, she'd heard him without much trouble. Maybe he could go find Nym again and ask her to check on Hermione…

Before Harry could finish that thought, loud, racing footsteps slapped along the stone floor as Professor Quirrel bolted into the Great Hall. The meek professor screamed at the top of his lungs in a panic, his face pale as a ghost. "TROLL! IN THE DUNGEONS! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!"

The hall went dead silent as Professor Dumbledore stood up at the head of the room. Quirrel's bottom lip quivered before he wheezed. "Thought you ought to know…"

With that pitiful statement, the Dark Arts Professor collapsed in a heap on the floor.

The Great Hall was filled with terrified screams a moment later, until Dumbledore's magically augmented voice roared above the din. "SILENCE!"

With the attention of the entire student body regained, Dumbledore faced the children with a calm, but stern expression. "Everyone please, do not panic. Prefects, escort your houses back to the dormitories in an orderly fashion. Teachers will come with me to the dungeons. I will send your heads of house to your dorms to inform you all when the crisis has been settled. You are all safe—rest assured, we will handle this situation."

With that, the evacuation of the Great Hall proceeded much more calmly, but Harry's mind was reeling as he shouldered his suitcase. He'd read about Trolls before, but he couldn't fathom how one had managed to find its way into the dungeons. Trolls were notoriously stupid creatures. There was no way it had gotten into Hogwarts on its own.

Halfway out of the hall, he stopped dead and realized something. Hermione had no idea about the Troll. Granted, she was probably safe in the girl's bathroom, but even so…

He made the decision in a split second to sneak away from the rest of the Gryffindor students and bolt around the corner of a corridor, intent on seeking out his friend. If nothing else, he could ensure she was okay until Dumbledore and the other teachers dealt with the Troll.

Harry was almost to the girl's bathroom when he spotted an ominous shadow against the wall, causing him to stop dead.

He had never seen a Troll outside of a book, but he didn't need to be an expert to recognize that towering shape, dragging a massive club behind its bulk.

It was most certainly not in the dungeons.

It was lumbering casually towards the girl's bathroom.

He was really hoping Hermione had since left, but unwilling to take that chance, Harry knelt down to open up his suitcase and hissed urgently in Parseltongue. "Selena! Get out here!"

It only took a few moments for the young Basilisk to slither out of the suitcase, her tongue flickering with urgent curiosity. She paused and made the closest thing a snake could manage to a grimace. "What is that stench?!"

"Troll," Harry muttered, holding his arm out for Selena to climb up. The Basilisk seemed surprised, but didn't get another word out since Harry kept going. "Look, I don't know how it got in here, but it's going into the girl's bathroom and Hermione might be trapped inside. We've got to at least make sure she's not in there."

"And if she is?" Selena demanded as Harry once more shouldered the suitcase. "My fangs aren't long enough to pierce the hide of something as tough-skinned as a Troll, Harry! And my eyes won't be able to petrify it for longer than a few minutes!"

"A few minutes is all we'll need," he told her. "Hold still—I'll lift the charm."

She did as he asked, however reluctantly, as Harry lifted his wand to her eyes and carefully removed the spell blocking out her dangerous, magical gaze. As soon as the veil had been lifted, the two of them heard a girl scream in the direction of the bathroom, followed by a Troll's bellow.

Harry froze and Selena snarled. "That answers one question!"

"Hermione!" Harry ran down the hall as fast as he could, spinning around the corner to catch sight of the door to the girl's bathroom lying in pieces on the floor. He managed to get a glimpse inside and spotted a small shape cowering below one of the bathroom sinks.

His relief lasted for just a second.

Because blocking his way was the hulking, ugly visage of a massive Troll, who had apparently heard his call and turned to see what had made the noise.

It grunted in surprise at the sight of Harry, then lifted its club up high in preparation to squash him. But its attention was pulled away as Selena coiled herself around Harry's neck and perched herself atop his head, glaring at it and releasing a furious hiss.

The Troll blinked stupidly at Selena, meeting her eyes and freezing in place as her petrification magic took effect.

Her magic did not work on the club.

Slipping from nerveless fingers, the massive object quite simply fell from the Troll's hand and dropped the heavy end right on top of its head. For a moment, the creature did not move, then fell forward and slammed into the floor, still petrified, beside its blunt weapon.

Selena hissed and pulled her head back, looking upon the behemoth in disgust. "I feel offended that I had to use my magic on such a foul…thing."

"Thanks," Harry told her regardless, before looking past the Troll's unmoving form and calling out. "Hermione! Get over here, it's stunned!"

The girl looked surprised for a moment to see that the Troll was face-down on the floor, but didn't question it and just bolted from the bathroom and into the hall. "H-how'd you know where I—"

"Tell you later," Harry interrupted, backing up with Selena's eyes still burning holes into the Troll's head. "Let's get away from here."

Unfortunately, before they could do so, the sound of footsteps heading their way caused the two students to look away from the Troll. Harry wasn't sure whether to cringe or breath a sigh of relief upon seeing McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrel rushing their way.

McGonagall paled upon seeing the Troll and then glanced incredulously at her two students. "Goodness—what on earth were you two—explain yourselves!"

Harry gulped and hoped they wouldn't get into much trouble as he formulated a response. "Hermione was in the bathroom when Professor Quirrel ran into the Great Hall and told us the Troll was loose. I thought since the Troll was in the dungeons, I could get her back to the dormitory quick enough…"

"You should've notified a teacher or your House prefects about that! I understand being concerned about your friend, but recklessness won't do anybody any favors! What if you were injured or killed?"

"I wasn't exactly expecting the Troll to be here," he muttered quietly. He paused and frowned. "How did the Troll get out of the dungeons so fast?"

McGonagall flashed an exceedingly nervous Quirrel an annoyed glare. "A good question, but one for later. For now…I will escort you back to the dormitory. Professor Snape, Professor Quirrel, if you would be so kind as to keep this…brute subjugated until Professor Dumbledore arrives?"

"With pleasure," Snape replied dryly, his tone clear that he was not pleased in the slightest.

They all froze at a deep grunting sound and spun towards the Troll as it lifted its upper body on meaty arms. The brute shook its head and looked up at them—only for an irate Selena to hiss at it furiously and glare into its eyes once again.

Petrified twice now in five minutes, the Troll looked exceedingly more uncomfortable stuck in place this time.

"How convenient," Snape muttered, lifting an eyebrow as he regarded the work of Harry's Basilisk.

"And good riddance, you stinking heap!" Selena snapped.

Once they reached the entrance to the Common Room, McGonagall sent Hermione ahead. "I have a few things I wish to clear up with Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. Go inside. You're dismissed."

Hermione flashed Harry an anxious look, but he merely shrugged and waved her on. She nodded and then gave the Fat Lady the password necessary to enter the dorms, leaving Harry and Selena with McGonagall.

Harry turned to face her, pausing as he realized McGonagall was pulling out her wand. "First, let's replace the lens your friend needs. I don't want anyone besides that Troll being petrified tonight."

While she went about doing that, Harry mentally prepared himself for the inevitable lecture he had no doubt was coming his way.

"You're not in trouble for your actions."

That got his head jerking up to stare at McGonagall in surprise. The old woman's eyes softened somewhat, but were still stern. "I'm glad you've become comfortable enough around some of your classmates to care about their wellbeing. I understand what your intentions were in trying to get Ms. Granger out of danger. But Harry, you know that you can rely on us, don't you?"

"I know," he replied quietly, watching Selena as the enchantment was completed, leaving the Basilisk free to slip around his neck and shoulders to make herself more comfortable.

"To be entirely fair, no one expected the Troll to have escaped the dungeons so quickly," McGonagall told him. "And there's every reason to believe that your intervention saved Ms. Granger's life. But you aren't alone here at Hogwarts, Harry."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I'm…still not really used to it. Relying on people, I mean."

"It's called trust, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said gently. "Take your time with it, but ask us to help next time. We want you to feel safe."

He nodded slightly. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

She nodded back and lifted a hand to pat his cheek. "Off to bed with you, now. Selena, make sure he sleeps properly."

"My pleasure," the Basilisk hissed despite knowing the witch could not understand her.

McGonagall flashed the serpent a somewhat amused look as she watched Harry retreat into the dormitory. With a sigh, she turned away and strode down the stairs, having little doubt that this was going to be a rather sleepless night for her.

"You reckless boy!" Selena hissed at Harry from the bed as he got changed behind the curtain.

"Are you going to lecture me, too?" He asked her tiredly.

"I'll spare my breath for a time when you're more coherent," she retorted, glaring at him in agitation.

"You're upset that I put myself at risk," he sighed. "But if I hadn't—"

"There's every chance that the teachers might've arrived in time to save the bushy-haired two-legs," Selena snapped. "You didn't even hesitate to throw yourself at that brute! What if it hadn't been stupid enough to look into my eyes?"

"But it did."

"Yes, it did," she admitted, deflating somewhat, but her tongue lost none of its fire. "But regardless, you could've been hurt!"

Harry flashed her a small smile. "I trust you to protect me, Selena."

"I am barely a hatchling, Harry," she pointed out. "There are many threats I cannot deal with on my own at this time. I am not an invincible sword that can cut down your every foe."

"Of course you aren't," he agreed, his tone becoming mischievous. "You're much more talkative than a sword."

Selena did the closest thing a snake could manage to an eye roll as she shook her triangular head. "Do not throw yourself at danger like that, Harry. Not without a plan, not again. You are my purpose for existing, do you realize that? I love you. You are the sole person I will devote my entire being to in my life. Do you understand?"

Harry's eyes softened and he reached over to gently scratch the smooth, emerald scales at the corner of her jaw—her favorite spot. "I know. And I love you, too. I'm sorry if I frightened you."

"I was not frightened," she denied, leaning into his touch with an eager hiss. "I was merely extremely aggravated by your lack of self-preservation skills. We should remedy that."

He snorted and nodded absently. "Yeah, we probably should."