Chapter 12

Their first class of the day was transfiguration with the Gryffindor's. They made their way to McGonagall's class, letting themselves in when they saw there was no teacher and only a cat on the desk. Harry took a bowl of milk from behind his back along with a cat toy. He then opened his bag, and pulled out a humongous bag of cat treats which he opened and poured into another metal dish, a scratching pole and a small animated mouse for it to play with. He placed all the items next to the cat with a small wink.

"Did you really have to do all that?" asked Draco when Harry returned to his seat at the back.

"Of course I did. I might surprise her with a life size model of Padfoot. Imagine the look on her face when she sees that," Harry whispered back, smiling innocently at the cat who was glaring at him. He turned to Rigel, who was on his left. "Rig, I'll let you use my wand for a day, if you do something for me." Harry said and as Rigel was asking him to let him use his wand from many days which he denied to give. For Harry to let them use it must mean he was asking something big.

"Fine, but what is it?"

"It's simple. Take this collar," he gestured to a bright red collar with 'Minnie' written in gold letters, "and put it on the cat."

"Are you trying to get me killed? You know the cat is McGonagall," whispered Rigel furiously, "Why can't you have Draco do it?"

"Cos Draco's a pussy."

"Hey! I am not a pussy! Why don't you do it, Hadrian?" whisper shouted the Malfoy heir. Luckily, they hadn't been heard by the cat yet since they were at the back of the class.

"Yeh, Hadrian, why don't you do it?"

Harry could see he was trapped. "Fine, but Rigel, Draco, I'll get you back for this." He stood up, and took the bright red collar to the cat. "Here Kitty, Kitty. I don't suppose you'll let me put this on." The cat's glare but pierce stone, and Harry moved forward tentively. He clasped the collar around the collar around the cat, who made no move to stop him. After he had done so, he ran back to his seat and made no move to speak after that.

The first person to come in after all the Slytherins and a couple of Gryffindors was the bushy-haired girl, who looked at them with an upturned nose and sat at the front, with the rest of the lions coming in after a few minutes. 5 minutes after the class had started, McGonagall had supposedly not shown up. Thomas and Ron came bursting into the room, relieved when the saw McGonagall wasn't there.

"We're so lucky. Imagine McGonagall's face when she saw we were late," said Ron.

"I know! Let's sit down so it looks like we were here the whole time." They moved to sit down but the cat that was lapping at the milk and playing with the toy jumped off the desk, turning into McGonagall.

"May I ask why you were late?"

"We didn't wake up on time."

"Well, maybe I can transfigure one of you into a pocket watch. That way, at least one of you will be here on time. Also, 10 points to Slytherin for recognising I was an animagus Mr Potter. However, I think a detention might do you good tonight. Moving on, Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." She changed her desk into a pig and back again, showing the class the power of transfiguration. "I want you to transfigure this matchstick into a needle."

She waved her wand, levitating the needles to each member of the class. Harry simply spoke the incantation, waving his wand over the matchstick and it turned into a perfect needle. "Well done, Mr Potter. That will be 10 points to Slytherin." Harry nodded, Harry continued to style his needle further, changing it to green with silver stripes and adding the Slytherin crest to the side. When he had finished, McGonagall was shocked. All that from a first-year student and on his first attempt. Regaining her composure, she stopped in front of his table. "Fabulous work Mr Potter. Even your father did not do as well as this on his first attempt, despite the fact that he was a prodigy in transfiguration." Harry flinched inside at the mention of his father, but did not let this show on his face.

However, he soon found a way to enjoy himself once more. "Professor," he began innocently, "why is that girl over there glaring at me? Did I do something wrong?" he was pointing at the resident know-it-all, Hermione Granger. She had wondered how he had done the transfiguration so quickly, especially when she had been studying non-stop since the day she had received her Hogwarts letter.

"You did not, Mr Potter. Miss Granger, why are you glaring at Mr Potter?" McGonagall was all too familiar with the gleam in Harry's eyes- she had seen it a few too many times in the eyes of the Marauders and the Weasley twins. Though she was not convinced by the innocent tone in his voice, she knew his complaint was completely valid.

Hermione, realising she had been caught, tried to stop glaring but found that she couldn't. "I wasn't Professor." Unknowingly to everyone in the room bar Rigel (as he had seen Harry's wand flick in Granger's direction), Harry had hexed her face to stay the same for the next few hours in the hope that she would learn a lesson about being more subtle.

"Miss Granger, stop glaring at me." When she noticed that Hermione was still glaring at her, she began to get fed up. "That will be 10 points from Gryffindor. If I have to tell you again, it will be 50 and a detention." Harry did feel a little bad, so he decided to lift the hex in the nick of time. He knew they had potions after this- Snape would love an excuse to take points. By the end of the lesson, all of Slytherin (bar Nott ,Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson) had managed to turn their matchsticks into needles. Some Gryffindors had made a little progress, and both Thomas and Weasley had failed utterly.

Content with himself, he left the classroom and made his way down to potions. The while class had turned up on time for once, having heard tales of Snape's fury when students were late. They were told by a deep, harsh voice that protruded from the confines of the dark classroom. They made their way inside, the Slytherins and a few brave lions at the front, pairing up when Snape had told them to, his form still not visible in the room.

Suddenly, a door slammed startling all of the Gryffindors and a few squeamish snakes. They had been told to expect this, but a few of them still flinched. As soon as the head of Slytherin house entered, he launched into a speech that sounded like he had rehearsed it many times in front of a mirror. He was positive it had been, especially when Draco had told him that he had seen a rough outline of it in a journal that Snape owned. "...fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." He finished his speech with a silent warning, all too clear to the people in the room.

This speech had led to mixed reactions, with some people looking disgusted at being taught by Snape (no doubt his father had told his brother tales of Snape's evil) whilst the Granger girl was on the edge of the seat no doubt hoping to prove she wasn't a dunderhead. Like Snape would care- the man despised 99% of Gryffindors and he could tell her attitude would not go down well with him. "Potter, Thomas. What would I get if I added powdered root to an infusion of wormwood?"

Thomas simply shrugged and replying with the ever so eloquent, "I don't know."

"Let's try again because fame clearly isn't everything. Where would I find a bezoar?" Harry could see Granger leaning in her seat, her hand waving about like a frantic 3-year-old. She knew the answer, no doubt about it, but anyone with a few brain cells to rub together could tell Snape was not going to choose her.

"I have no idea. Why are you asking me if I don't know?"

"That will be 5 points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter. Watch your tone. One last question. What is the difference between wolfsbane and monkshood?"

Thomas, having had enough, finally exploded. "Shut up Snivelly. I don't know! Why don't you ask Granger over there cos she obviously knows the answer?"

Everyone knew he was screwed. You did not shout at Snape and get off easily. "You insolent brat. That will be 50 points from Gryffindor and a week of detention with Filch. If I hear you shout at me again, it will be 100 points and 2 weeks of detention." He whirled around to face Harry. "Let's see if both Potter twins are useless. Do you know the answers?"

"Of course, Professor. Powdered root to an infusion of wormwood will make the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is found in the stomach of *cough* Dumbledore *cough*. I mean a goat. And finally, there is no difference between wolfsbane and monkshood- they are the same plant also known as aconite." The comment about Dumbledore brought laughter rippling through the room, apart from a few die-hard Dumbledore fans, who glared at him.

"That will be 10 points for each answer, Mr Potter. Now, instructions are on the board. Begin." Snape had set them a simple potion to cure boils- one Harry had made many times before. He went around, complimenting the Slytherins and leaving a few competent lions alone. Just as he was showing everyone how perfectly Harry and Daphne (his partner) had stewed the horned slugs, there was a loud hissing in the room. Weasley and his brother had somehow managed to melt their cauldron- they were drenched in the incomplete potion which had caused boils to sprout everywhere. "Idiot boys- I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire? Both of you, to the hospital wing." He then rounded on Hermione and Seamus, who had been working next to them. "Why did you not tell them to not do it? Thought it would have made you look better, Granger? That will be 5 points from Gryffindor."

Harry leant towards Daphne, deeply amused. "I know that we shouldn't be enjoying this, but I am for some reason. It is nice to see my brother and his lackey get what they deserve." She gently snorted and giggled, her mind playing images of the 2 Gryffs dealing with Snape and his consistent insults year long. They carried on working, and produced a perfect potion by the end of the lesson. Harry knew that his arse was better suited to teach potions than Snape- but he didn't care. The classes were amusing after all and he had had lessons from his grandmother who had a mastery in potions since she was a healer. He was sure he would do fine for his OWLs in the end.

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On Thursday, Draco and Rigel both appeared in the great hall looking very embarrassed. Rigel had red hair, and hundreds of freckles, with a top saying 'The Newest Weasley'. Draco's robes had turned a bright pink, and his hair was now a bright orange .Harry simply smirked at them, reminding them how he promised to get them back. After breakfast, it was finally time for flying lessons. With the Gryffindors. And Rolanda Hooch. They made their way down to the Quidditch field, Harry determined to ignore Thomas Potter as he was now called. "So, now that everyone's here. Stand by a broom, put your hand out and say 'UP'"

Shouts of 'UP' were heard all around, with only a few people's broom's shooting up into their hands on the first try. These people were Harry, Thomas and Draco, Rigel. The rest shot into their hands after a short time apart from Hermione and Parkinson, who were extremely nervous. Suddenly, Neville began to rise uncontrollably. He fell off the broom once it reached 10 20 feet with a giant "AHHHHHHH!"

Harry quickly cast an 'aressto momentum' slowing him so he landed gently on his feet. However, he was still sent to the hospital wing, claiming that Pomfrey would have heal him off minor injuries and also harry got 20 points for helping. When he had left, Thomas saw a golf ball lying across the floor- it must have fallen from Neville's pocket. "Anyone up for a game of catch? Unless you're too scared? How about you, brother? Chickening out?"

Thomas had directly challenged him, and he could not refuse that. "I accept, little brother." They both kicked off into the air, and Harry could see that Thomas was actually a decent flier. They both threw the ball ridiculously far from each other, attempting to make one of them drop it. The students below were watching with a mix of fascination and horror, with Hermione lecturing people on how dangerous it was. Thomas suddenly threw the ball to Harry's left. Harry dived down, chasing after it and plucked it from the air a centimetre from the ground before pulling up and coming to a stop in front of McGonagall. He was screwed.

Or so he thought. "Hello Professor. The weather is quite nice, isn't it."

"Follow me Mr Potter." She had an excellent poker face, and she led him through the castle to the dungeons. They came to a stop in front of Snape's office door. "In, Mr Potter."

"Hello Minerva. So nice of you to grace me with your presence. Mr Potter, why are you here?"

"As loathed I am to admit it, Mr Potter here deserves a try-out. I saw him catch a golf ball after a 40-foot dive and he didn't even scratch himself." Harry instantly brightened.

"Interesting Minerva. But we all know that first-years aren't allowed to play"

"Um, you could talk to Albus to bend that rule"

"Indeed. And so it shall be, Minerva. See to it that Albus agrees." Harry went to the great hall, just in time for lunch. He was considered lucky to have survived that without a loss of points.

The next week, Harry went to the try-outs only to find that no one was going for seeker (Terence Higgs had transferred to Ilvermony). After it, the final team was Bletchley for keeper, Flint, Montague and Pucey as chasers, Derreck and Bole as beaters and finally Harry as seeker. This was met with general excitement from his friends, especially Rigel and Draco who were the Quidditch fanatics in the group. He had gotten his broom and was returning from the try-outs when he was confronted by his brother and Weasley.

"That's a broomstick. You're done for this time, brother dearest."

Harry and his group of friends simply laughed, spotting Professor Flitwick coming down to see what the hubbub was. "Hello Professor." He said, ignoring Thomas. "Do you like my new broomstick?"

"Ah yes. Wonderful, Hadrian. You should be off."

"But Professor, it's not allowed."

"It is Thomas. The headmaster confirmed it. Be good now." By the end of that, Thomas was fuming. How dare Harry get a spot on the Quidditch team. He should have one- he was the boy-who-lived and obviously the best seeker in the world. He would go talk to Wood- clearly he would want to win and give him a spot on the school.

Before he went, he was mad about Harry showing him up so he decided to beat him properly. "Know what? I challenge you to a duel, Hadrian."

Harry whirled around, just as he was about to leave. "I accept. Midnight in the trophy room. Rigel's my second- who's yours?"

"Ron." They both nodded, and walked away. After dinner, Harry parlayed the information to Snape who ensured that they would be in for a nasty surprise later that night.

The next day, both of them along with Granger (who had stupidly decided to follow them) were looking enraged. They had snuck out, only to be nearly caught by Filch. They then escaped into the third-floor corridor, where they had an interesting meeting with Fluffy. They then opened the door to find the looming figure of Filch in front of them. They had lost 100 points altogether and were in detention for the next week (it would have been 200 points and detention for a month but Dumbledore had interfered.)

The next few weeks passed as planned, with all of their lessons being either really boring or amazing. Defense and History were a joke- Quirrell only stuttered and smelled of garlic whilst Binns droned on and on about Goblin wars. Harry had been forced to pay attention in Quirrell's class since the teacher was alive but used History to study Defense as Binns did not care what anyone did. Charms was his favourite, with Flitwick being an amazing teacher and having showed them advanced concepts if they managed to complete the class work early.

In fact, the main problem Harry was dealing with was Granger.

Flashback

Hermione Granger was annoyed. Very annoyed. She had been studying non-stop since she had gone to Hogwarts, and thought that because of it, she would be ahead in all her classes. After all, if her primary school was anything to go by, most children were quite lazy and did not practice schoolwork during the summer. This was somewhat the case- she was ahead of the year-mates in her house, along with most people in other houses. However, some of them were outclassing her, especially one Hadrian Potter.

He always knew the answers to every single question, and even gave responses that held information she did not know. He had to have been cheating- she had read all her books already, and the information was not even in them. How could he know it otherwise? If she could work out how he was doing it then she could finally be the best in her year.

She had finally found the chance to confront him on his won without his group of friends nearby. She sat down in the seat in front of him when he was in the library. "How are you doing it?" she asked.

"Doing what?"

"All the magic. There's no way you could be better than me. You must be cheating."

"Gringer, I am not cheating. Just because I am better in magic than you does not mean I am cheating. Have a good day." He made to stand up, but was stopped by her hand. "What?!" he asked, feeling a headache coming forward.

"My name is Granger. I have been studying non stop since I got my books. I have them memorised but you always know stuff that isn't in them. Tell me how."

"First of all, memorising your books does not make you better than me. I have been doing magic all my life, so I am just more experienced. Secondly, why should I tell you? What is in it for me? And finally, just like how some people are born smarter than other, I could have just been born better than you." He smirked, stood up and left leaving behind a fuming Hermione in his wake.

She was still convinced he was cheating .

End Flashback

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"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" 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." It was All Hallows Eve, or commonly known as Halloween, and the first class of the day was charms with Flitwick. He had announced that they were finally going to start making things levitate- Harry already knew how to do it but he did suppose it would be amusing to see his brother and some of the more stupid Gryffindors fail.

The entire class went to casting, but before anyone could say a word, there was a cry of "WINGARDIUM LEVIOOOOSA!" from Seamus Finnigan, before the feather exploded and burst into flames, torching his hair and leaving the ashes of the feather on his face to the great amusement of people around him.

"Ah. Insufficient concentration." Flitwick flicked his wand wiping the soot from Seamus' face and conjured a new feather for him. "Try again Mr Finnigan, put attempt to picture the feather levitating as you say the spell."

Harry pointed his wand at the feather, and murmured the incantation. His feather rose and he moved his wand, controlling it as if he was a puppet master. "Look everyone, Mr Potter's done it. 20 points to Slytherin." This was met with a low growl coming from Granger, who hated being shown up in anything. Honestly, not everything was a competition. To her increasing ire, all of his friends managed to levitate the feather before her.

As he gazed around the class, Harry could hear the bickering coming from the Weasel and the bookworm. "You're doing it wrong! It's Wingardium LeviOOOsa, not LeviosAAA!" shouted Hermione, oblivious to the stares they were getting.

"Well, you do it then if you're so bloody smart," the red-head waste disposal machine getting as bright as a tomato.

Hermione turned her nose at him, pointed her wand at the feather and said the incantation ending it with a flick. The feather rose a few inches off the ground, and stayed there before it fell again. "Well done Miss Granger. 5 points to Gryffindor," said Flitwick in his extremely squeaky voice when he saw it. Hermione look somewhat pleased, yet still very annoyed considering she wasn't the first to do it and the fact she only got 5 points.

After the class, Weasel was talking loudly about how Granger was a twat. "Honestly, can you believe her? It''s LeviOsa not LeviosAA! No wonder she hasn't got any friends!" he exclaimed to Harry's brother.

Suddenly, a blur of bushy brown hair rushed past Harry, nearly knocking him over in the process. "Looks she heard him," said Draco, very amused.

"Honestly, Drake-Drake. It's be hard not considering how loud Weasley was about it." Draco flushed at the use of the nickname his mother had assigned to him, cursing her for saying that in front of Harry of all people. "Stop blushing. It's not like I call you that regularly like Parkinson."

Draco suddenly shuddered, remembering the horribly weird baby voice Pansy had used whilst calling him that. "That girl has some serious problems."

"She's a Grade 5 stalker," interjected Rigel.

"Aren't you going to after her Rigel? you look so concerned."

"Please, shut up. If I can survive getting accidentally flung out of a window using my dads Broom, she can survive being insulted. It's not the end of the world."

"Now Draco," Harry said bringing the topin back to the Malfoy heir, "It's clear that Parkinson wants to marry you and stay with you forever and it wouldn't hurt you to accept some of her advances."

"Yeah right! The second I even show a small amount of interest into her she'll be more clingy to me than Weasley to your brother, Hadrian. Sometimes I feel like she has this perfect future planned out."

"She does as well!" exclaimed Tracey butting into their conversation. "So me and Daphne were forced to go round hers becuase her parents invited ours. Parkinson took us up to her bedroom and started showing us this incredibly thick planner which had literally everthing about you and her in it," she said to Draco relishing the disgust on his face.

"Tracey, please tell me what's in the planner! I need to know!" said Harry pleadingly giving her a big green eyed look.

Tracey and Daphne both looked at each other, and a silent arguement seemed to happen between them . "Fine, we'll do it," started Tracey.

"But only for you and you owe us," finished Daphne.

"Deal!" said Harry instantly. He knew that they weren't gonna extract something very major out of him- they were his friends and it was a very small price to pay for the contents of the planner. "Thanks Tracey, thanks Daph," he added on before turning to Draco. "Guess I'll finally know the names of your future children, Draco. Can I be the godfather for one of them?" he asked.

" And I will be for the other" Rigel interrupted before he burst into laughter with Harry ,Daphne and Tracy

"Kill me now," groaned Draco knowing that this teasing would only be so much greater once Hadrian would get the knowledge in the planner.

"So team, we have our first match against Gryffindor next week. We all know who's playing apart from their seeker. Anyone got any ideas?" asked Flint. It was the evening, and the team was having a training session to prepare for their match.

"I do," said Harry and the team looked at their youngest member. "It's my brother."

"How did your brother get into the team? You only got in becuase McGonagall saw your flying but your brother hasn't done anything noteworthy," remarked Adrian Pucey, one of the chasers on the squad.

"He complained to Dumbledore so the headmaster gave him a spot on the team for free with even trying out. He's a decent enough seeker, but I am a little better."

"Well, that's fine for us. Just make sure you don't let him get the snitch next week. So, let's begin the session. I've arranged for the Ravenclaw team to meet us down here for a pick up game so we can actually get prepared for when we will we facing an actual team. Let's hop to it and make sure that we win. Hadrian- in a normal match you're allowed to get the snitch instantly but today wait until I tell you as I want to give the rest of the team time to practice as well," said Flint and Harry nodded before they all grabbed their brooms and kicked upwards into the evening sky.

An hour and a half later, they touched down throughly exhausted but very pleased nontheless. "Good work team in beating them 310-120. Gryffindor will be slightly harder, but we can do it. I trust you can all see yourslef back to the castle in time for the Halloween feast."

It was the Halloween feast and Harry was sitting his friends savouring some lovely treacle tart when a ragged looking Quirinus Quirrel burst into the room causing the entire great hall to fall into silence. His clothes were ripped, his turban ruffled and he had several cuts on his body. "T-t-troll! Troll in the dungeons!" he managed to gasp out startling the entire room before he fainted backwards.

Silence reigned supreme for approximately 5 seconds before all hell broke loose. People began screaming about how they were going to die (mainly the first years) whilst others began to converse with their friends in hushed whispers about the troll. "What happened to his stutter? And why did he faint backwards when he was already running forwards?" whispered Harry furiously to his friends.

"I don't know to be honest. It does seem sketchy to be honest," Rigel whipered back, just as confused as Harry.

After around 30 seconds of this madness, Albus Dumbledore had had enough. "Silence!" he shouted sending off several firecrackers to quieten the entire great hall. "Prefects, please lead the students back to their dormitories. Teachers, follow me to the dungeons.

Everybody began to move but a Slytherin prefect stopped them all. "The Slytherin dormitories is in the dungeons and that's where the troll is!"

Dumbledore had the decency to at least look sheepish as the prefect called him out. "Apologies- Slytherins, please make your way to the library."

Every student got up from the tables in the great hall and made their way to their respective destinations. Harry and his friends were walking along the 2nd floor, talking animatedly and were making their way to the library. When they turned a corner on their way to the library, they came face to face with Thomas, Ron and Hermione who seemed to be running for their lives. "Run! The troll is here!" shouted Ron and he was true to his word. Behind them lumbered a 12 foot fully grown mountain troll which clutched a heavy and very thick spiked club.

"Idiots! They're leading it straight to us!" remarked Harry just as he along with his friends and the 3 sudden arrivals began running out of the way. He looked back at the troll and pointed his wand at it throwing several silent stinging spells into its eyes. He knew it would just enrage the troll but he had a plan. After a short time, he and the group of first years who had gotten separated from the rest of the Slytherins came to a dead end where the stairs connected. "Guys, get out of the way!" When they didn't move and just turned to face the troll which was lumbering towards them slowly, Harry cast a light banishing charm towards the group causing them to get pushed back a few metres and out of the way of the troll. "Trust me! I have a plan!"

Just as the troll was about to reach him, Harry rolled out of the way and turned to face the creature's back. Using all of his magical strength, he threw a banishing charm at the lumbering animal which propelled it over the railing and down several flights of stairs where it landed on the ground floor with a sickening splat. Luckily, there were no students left on that floor to witness it or to get harmed. As Harry took a deep breath and admired his handiwork, he was suddenly pushed a few steps due to the force of the hugs he received from his friends. "You idiot! What were you thinking?" exclaimed Daphne, before realising she was still hugging him. She blushed and stepped back along with the rest of friends to give him space to breath.

"Something along the lines of I'd like not to be crushed by the club the troll had," mumbled Harry before getting smacks from both Daphne and Tracey on the back of his head.

"Bloody Gryffindor! I thought you're meant to be in Slytherin," exclaimed Rigel still in shock from what his friend had just done.

"I was raised by a lion, so some of his tendencies did shine through to me," said Harry with a lopsided grin before turning his attention to his brother who was sprawled across the floor on his arse looking at Harry with his mouth open. "You should really close your mouth brother dearest- you wouldn't want something to fly in there would you?"

"Um, thank you Harry," Thomas replied and the thanks felt rather forced but Harry didn't mind. It was a start.

"Well, you're welcome brother. But do try to not make this a regular occurance."

Thomas was saved from answering through the arrival of Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape- the latter who was walking with a limp but none of the students commented on it. "Can you all explain what happened here?" the headmaster asked his expression quite stern.

"I pushed the troll over the edge and it fell, Headmaster," said Harry putting emphasis on the last word.

"We know that but perhaps you should explain how this came to be," said McGonagall, her lips thinning.

"A simple banishing charm Professor," said Harry.

"That's a 4th year spell Mr Potter. 20 points for some good work and 20 more points for using it in an appropriate manner," remarked Snape, never to shy away from giving his house points.

"That's all well, but you shouldn't have banished it off the edge Mr Potter- the hallway has been greatly damaged," said Dumbledore surveying Harry with his typical disappointed gaze.

"Well, Headmaster, I think when a troll is chasing me, I tend not to think about property damage," said Harry coldly.

"Enough," said McGonagall when she saw Dumbledore's mouth open, "take 10 points for bravery Mr Potter. What I want to know is why you 3 are here," she said looking strictly at Thomas, Ron and Hermione.

Thomas was about to open his mouth but was stopped by Hermione. "It was me, Professor. I went looking for it. I had read about them and thought I could handle it but if they hadn't saved me I would have been dead by now."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Hermione Granger, rule-lover, lying to McGonagall of all people. And she clearly needed to work on her lying skills as Harry could see the holes in that. Snape also saw it and saw an opportunity. "Why did you end up here, then when the troll was sighted in the dungeons? You would need to ascend 2 floors from the great hall when you should have gone down to look for it? 10 points from Gryffindor for lying to a teacher," Snape remarked very coldly.

"Indeed. I do not want to know, but I suggest you don't make a habit of lying to me." McGonagall turned to Thomas and Ron, who seemed to cower in fear. "Take 5 points each for attempting to assist a fellow housemate. Now off to your common rooms all of you." She addressed the last part to all the students who separated with the Slytherins following Snape to the dungeons and the Gryffindors following McGonagall to Gryffindor Tower.

Over the next few days, Harry noticed that Thomas and Ron had become friends with Hermione much to his dismay. He could handle one of them annoying him, and occasionally even 2 but 3 was going to give him quite a few headaches. Luckily, he did have a match against Gryffindor soon and he could use the distraction.