Will overheard Harry and Ron talking about Quidditch at dinner that evening. Apparently he'd been right when he'd assumed that Mcgonagall wanted to put Harry on the team. Harry seemed excited about it, but Will wasn't so sure. A lot of the danger Harry'd been in had happened during a Quidditch match, but it also made Harry so happy. He sighed.

"Will!" Hermione exclaimed, causing Will to jump, "What has you so distracted?"

"What else?" Neville commented, "Harry, of course."

"Sorry," Will said, embarrassed, "What were we talking about?"

"Our double transfiguration lesson we just completed." Hermione explained, "Did you think my matchstick still looked a bit shiny?"

They'd moved on from simple transfiguration, matchstick to needle, and were trying to change it back. Untransfiguration was very important, Mcgonagall had said, seeing as you might need to cancel your own (or someone else's) transfiguration sometime in the future. It was a simple spell, a 'one incantation fits all' type of situation.

"It looked perfect," Will assured her.

Neville nodded, "Better than mine at least." Neville did end up with his own wand, Will had found out, but Transfiguration was still a difficult subject. Neville's matchstick had still been made of metal at the end of the lesson. Hermione was the one of the only ones who had fully completed the assignment given today.

"Mcgonagall did say that she didn't expect many of us to complete the lesson today, if any," Will told Neville. Will's matchstick had been rather pointy.

"Shh!" Hermione said suddenly, "Look, look! Malfoy is bothering Harry and Ron!"

"Oh, not again," Will said, turning to look.

"-A duel? Tonight, if you want," Malfoy was saying, "But I bet you don't even have a second. You've probably never even heard of a Wizard's Duel, have you, Potter?"

"Of course he has, and I'm his second." Ron interjected. "Who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at his two goons, "Crabbe," He said finally before turning back to Harry and Ron, "The trophy room is always unlocked, we'll see you at midnight." With that he swaggered away, his 'friends' following him. Ron and Harry turned back to each other, whispering.

"They're going to sneak out!?" Hermione whispered, outraged. "They could get in so much trouble if they're caught!"

To be fair, Will didn't care much about breaking rules either. Nor did he care much about a system of points that only fostered hard feelings and competition between the Houses. But he and Hermione had had this conversation before, and he kept his mouth shut this time. He just gave her a look. She ignored him.

"I'm going over there to talk to them." She finished.

"Hermione, no! They'll just-" Will tried, but she was already moving. He got up to follow her.

By the time he got over there, She was already talking.

"-what would happen if you got caught?! You'd lose Gryffindor a ton of points! It's really rather selfish of you."

"Look Hermione," Harry said, seeing Will approach, "At this point, it's really none of your business." He turned to Will, "Don't you have something important you should be doing?" He asked him. Will was shocked at the amount of venom in Harry's voice.

"Yeah, how about you two go do that." Ron agreed, "Goodbye."

Will grabbed Hermione's arm and began pulling her away. She turned and followed him.

"That could have gone better." Neville commented as they sat back down.

"It's definitely a trap." Will said, "Malfoy doesn't plan to meet them at all, he's just going to tell a teacher or something." Will wondered why Malfoy chose Filch to tell, you'd have thought he'd have chosen Snape.

"We have to stop them!" Hermione whispered. "I'm going to stay up tonight. Are you guys going to help me?"

"I will," Will said, hoping this wasn't going to hurt his relationship with Harry even more.

Neville sighed. "Fine," He said. "But if we're late to double potions tomorrow, I'm blaming you."

That night, Harry and Ron went to bed early. They must have been waiting for everyone else to fall asleep, because when Seamus had finally started snoring Harry and Ron crept down to the common room. As they were heading to the portrait hole, a lamp flickered on.

"Are you really going to do this, Harry?" Hermione said.

"Really!?" Ron whispered, "Are you serious?! Go back to bed!"

"We almost told your brother Percy, Ron. He'd have stopped this." She whispered furiously.

"Using the word 'we' a little strongly there, Hermione." A voice said. Harry spun around to see Will and Neville. They had followed them down, of course.

"Fine," Hermione snapped, "I almost told Percy."

"I talked her out of it," Will said, "But this is still a bad idea. It's definitely a trap."

Harry paused, but Ron laughed. "You'd say anything to get us to not go, huh." He turned to Harry, "If we don't go now, we're going to be late. I don't want Malfoy to tell everyone we were too scared to show up. Do you?"

Harry shook his head, "Let's go," and headed out the portrait hole. Ron and the others followed.

"Look," Will said, "There's no way he's actually going to be there."

"What," Harry said, spinning around, "Is this some part of your big, important mission, too?"

Hermione gave Will and Harry a curious look, but Will ignored her.

"Kind of," Will muttered. Harry gave him a disbelieving look.

"I can't believe-"

"Guys!" Neville called, stopping them all in their tracks, "We're locked out."

They all turned. Neville was right. The Fat Lady had left her painting, and until she came back, they were all stuck outside Gryffindor Tower.

"Well then, we might as well go!" Ron said, "Come on, Harry." And those two headed off. Will followed, Neville and Hermione behind.

"Oh no!" Ron stopped them, "There's no way you three are coming."

"You can't exactly stop us," Will reminded him, "And if you tried, it'd definitely make you late."

Ron paused. "Fine, but keep quiet."

Will was pretty sure they'd make it to the Trophy Room unscathed, and they did, with time to spare. Once they'd entered, Ron let out a little laugh. "Looks like Malfoy and Crabbe aren't here yet."

"They're not coming," Will explained, "it's going to be-"

"Look around, my sweet, they'll be here somewhere." A voice that was definitely Filch whispered.

Everyone froze. Filch's voice was coming from the room off of the Trophy Room, so they booked it quietly back the way they came.

But it wasn't going to be that easy to get back to Gryffindor Tower. Not long after, they ran into Peeves.

"Wee little firsties, wandering around the school at night. Peeves wonders what he should do.~"

"What can I give you, to get you to pretend you never saw us?" Will asked.

"Peeves always did like a bargain," The spirit said thoughtfully, but was interrupted by Ron.

"We don't have time for this!" Ron whispered, and he ran at Peeves.

"Ron, NO!" Will whispered, but Ron took a swing at Peeves anyway.

Peeves gave a laugh and puffed himself up, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! THERE ARE STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

They ran, ducking under Peeves and sprinting for their lives. Turning a corner, they ran into a locked door. Ron tugged desperately on the handle.

"This is it, we're done for," He moaned. They could hear approaching footsteps.

"Move over!" Hermione hissed.

Will realized where they had to be, "Uh, guys, maybe we shouldn't-"

"Alohomora!" Hermione cast, and pulled the door open. Neville pushed Will from behind, and they all toppled inside, the door swinging shut behind them with a soft click.

Will was under a pile of limbs. He wriggled as best he could, trying to get out. "We need to get out of-"

Harry jumped up and pressed an ear to the door. "Shh!" Will froze. Filch must be right on the other side.

Will looked around the room, searching for Fluffy in the darkness. He wasn't hard to spot. The HUGE three-headed dog, easily as big as an elephant, was just stirring from a nap. Three sets of eyes opened sleepily, and spotted him.

"Okay, he's gone, I think." Harry said.

Fluffy began to growl. Heart in his throat, Will did the first thing he could think of, which was burst into song.

Hush now my baby,

Be still, love, don't cry,

Sleep as you're rocked by the stream.

"What are you-" Hermione turned, and saw the huge dog. She jumped, tugging on Harry's arm.

Neville had already noticed, and was frozen in fear.

Sleep and remember, my last lullaby,

So I'll be with you, when you dream.

Already, Fluffy's eyes were drooping, heads nodding. He slumped back to the floor. By now, Harry and Ron had spotted the dog as well.

River, oh River! Flow gently for me,

Such precious cargo you bear.

Harry slid the door open, and everyone started to back out slowly.

Do you know somewhere he can be free?

River, deliver him there.

Will finished, right as the door closed in front of him. They all turned and burst into a sprint, running all the way back to Gryffindor tower.

"My, you're all out late." Thankfully the Fat Lady was back. "What have you been-"

"Never mind, please let us in. Pig snout!" Harry said, giving the password.

The portrait swung open and they all scrambled inside, breathing heavily.

"That… was way too close." Will muttered.

"How-" Hermione panted, "How did you know to do that?"

"What?" Will asked. Neville had collapsed on the floor.

"Singing." Hermione said, "How- how did you know that would put him to sleep? For that matter, what song was that? I've never heard it before."

"The River Lullaby, from the Prince of Egypt," Will said, straightening up. "My mum used to sing it to me to go to sleep."

"The Prince of Egypt?" Ron asked.

"A movie," Will explained, "It's a muggle thing. Explain it to you later."

"I've never heard of that one before." Hermione said thoughtfully.

Well, it's-" Will said, and froze. When did that movie come out again? It was in the nineties, right? Was it even out yet? Speaking of which, wasn't it his mum from his last life that sang it to him?

"Never mind that," Harry said, and Will was never as thankful for a change of subject as he was now, "What was that thing? And why was it in a school?"

"It was standing on a trapdoor, so I'd guess it's guarding something." Hermione said.

"How'd you even notice that?" Ron asked, "I was too busy being distracted by its heads!"

"Anyway," Hermione said, remembering why they'd been out in the first place, "Will was completely right. Malfoy set you up. If we hadn't gotten so lucky, we all could have been caught. We could have even been killed! Or worse, expelled from Hogwarts!"

"Hermione," Will chuckled, "I think dying is worse than being expelled from a school."

"Whatever," Hermione said, still upset, "I'm going back to bed, and I suggest you all do the same. We have double potions in the morning. Goodnight!" and with that, she headed up the girl's stairs.

"I can't believe we got away with that," Neville said, still shocked. He had finally gotten up off of the floor.

"I know," Harry said, laughing.

"That was a pretty good adventure," Will nodded, "But maybe we should wait a bit before having another one."

"You're probably right," Harry nodded, smiling. They looked at each other, and for a moment it almost seemed like everything was back to the way it was before. But then Harry seemed to remember where he was, and the smile slid off of his face.

"I'm going to bed." Harry said, and turned, going up the boy's stairs. Ron followed behind.

Neville clapped Will on the shoulder, "He'll come around. Let's get to bed."

Will nodded and followed Neville up the stairs.

Will was surprised and dismayed by the fact it was already Halloween. That meant it'd been two months since they'd started Hogwarts, two months of not talking to Harry. He'd been having to use a school owl to send letters home, and when his parents had asked why he'd had to explain that he and Harry weren't talking right now. They'd been supportive of him, but also recommended that he try to patch things up. Unfortunately, Will had no idea how. Every time he tried to approach Harry, he would falter. There was really no excuse for it, he had been lying to Harry the whole time he'd known him, after all.

Harry seemed happy, hanging out with Ron. He was probably going to Quidditch practices as well, if the long, thin package Harry had received by owl one morning at breakfast was any indication.

Halloween was on a Thursday this year, and that meant that they had Charms right after breakfast. Will had a feeling this would be a disaster. He was right.

The relationship between Ron and Harry, and Hermione, had been getting rockier ever since school had started, it seemed. Will had thought that he'd helped them form a friendship on the Hogwarts Express, but weeks of getting on each other's nerves had frayed things to the point that even little things would spark an argument. That's why, when Flitwick had placed Ron and Hermione together to work on the levitation spell, Will had a bad feeling. Things wouldn't go exactly as they had in the books, would they?

But they did, pretty much. After Charms, and Hermione trying to help Ron with his pronunciation, she had overheard Ron say, "She's a nightmare. It's no surprise she doesn't have any real friends," and had run away crying.

Will rounded on Ron, "That was completely uncalled for. All she had done was try to help you, albeit a bit abrasively. She had your best intentions at heart and you repay her by bullying her? Stop acting like Malfoy and start using your head." Will stormed off after Hermione.

He missed second period, Herbology, trying to find her. He knew she was in one of the girl's bathrooms, but which? He'd expected it to be the one closest to the Dungeons, seeing as that's where Professor Quirrell said he saw the troll, but he found her in the one on the third floor. Which, after thinking about it, made some sense. She must have run to the nearest bathroom, and why would Quirrell tell the truth about where the troll was when sending them on a troll-hunt was more efficient?

He knocked on the door to the stall Hermione was in.

"Go away!" Hermione yelled.

"Hermione?" Will called softly.

There was a pause. "You're not supposed to be in here, this is the girl's bathroom!" She sputtered.

"Well, I want to be there for you. So I'm willing to break a rule or two to do so." Will said.

"You know how I feel about that, we've talked about this!" She said, still upset.

"Sorry, but I'm not leaving." Will told her, and sat down on the floor. The next class, double transfiguration, must have started by now.

There was quiet for a while, broken only by some sniffles.

"You're really my friend, right?" Hermione asked, softly.

"Of course!" Will said, "I'm sorry if I've ever done anything that would make you think that I'm not!"

She spoke wetly, "You haven't, not really."

Will paused, "Then why did what Ron said hurt you so bad? Anyone can see he must be off his rocker if he thinks what he said was in any way true."

There was a pause. "It's happened before." Hermione admitted, sniffling. "They were just using me for my coursework, and I was so happy to have friends I didn't realize it. It took them laughing in my face to get me to understand what was going on."

Will stopped, "I'm sorry, Hermione. It's terrible that happened to you. But you know it's not true now, right?"

"Yeah, I do." She said, hiccuping a bit, "It's just- when Ron said that it kind of brought up all of those old feelings. It's silly, I know-"

"How you feel isn't silly," Will gently corrected, "Feelings are a big part of what makes up who you are. And I like who you are, Hermione."

Hermione giggled softly, "I like who you are too, Will."

"How about this," Will said. It was probably still safe to hang around here a bit longer; it wasn't until after the Halloween feast started that the troll appeared. "You take some time to calm down, and when you feel like it, we can go get something to eat, okay? I'll be here when you're ready."

"Sure." Hermione chuckled wetly. Will leaned on the stall next to Hermione's, waiting. After a while, Hermione came out, wiping her eyes. She gave Will a little hug.

"Thank you for waiting." She said.

"No problem," Will chuckled, "Let's go see if the feast has started yet, I'm famished."

As they stepped outside the bathroom, Neville called out to them.

"There you are! I've been all over looking for you." He ran up, holding some food wrapped in napkins.

"What are you holding?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"Oh, these?" Neville said, bashfully, "I wasn't sure if you wanted to come to the feast or not, so I thought I'd bring you guys something."

"Thank you Neville! That was really thoughtful, but I'm feeling better now, so-"

"Wait," Will said, interrupting, "The feast has started?"

"Yes," Neville nodded, "There's still some time, so if you guys want to go we can-"

"We need to get out of here." Will interrupted again, "Now. Let's hurry."

"What? Why?" Hermione asked, looking at Will with a strange expression.

"Let's just say there's a bit of an issue-" Will started, but stopped when he smelled it.

"Ugh, what is that?" Neville said, "My eyes are watering."

"Troll," Will said, as it came around the corner, down the corridor from them. It spotted them and bellowed, smashing its club on the floor.

"Run!" Will shouted, and they took off down the corridor. The troll chased them, surprisingly fast.

"It's gaining, what do we do?" Neville screamed.

Will pushed over a suit of armor, causing it to fall into the troll's path. The troll stumbled on the armor pieces, and they used the time to gain some distance.

Rounding a corner, Will nearly ran into Harry and Ron, who had come from the other direction.

"Run!" Will yelled, and grabbed their hands as he ran, pulling them along.

"What are you-" Ron cut himself off as the troll rounded the corner, after them. It raised its club, swinging it low to the ground at Harry. Will pushed Harry out of the way.

A huge impact hit Will's leg, sending him flying into the wall, forcing out the air in his lungs. He was in a lot of pain, his whole left leg was on fire from the hip down.

"WILL!" Hermione screamed, running over to him. The troll noticed her as well and raised its club again.

"Hermione, look out!" Harry yelled, and then did something very stupid. He jumped onto its back, sending his wand up its nose. Will wasn't even aware that Harry had drawn his wand. He wasn't much aware of anything, really. Mostly just the pain in his leg. He was pretty sure all of the bones in it were shattered.

Ron was visibly panicking, and Neville seemed catatonic. Hermione fluttered over Will, crying.

"Ron!" Will yelled, "The club!" That was about all he could do before he passed out.

Next, Will wakes up in the Hospital Wing, and Harry and Ron fill Will, Hermione, and Neville in on what's been going on. Also, Will and Harry have a long overdue chat.