Chapter 5 - New Feelings
The next morning at breakfast, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were all very quiet. None of them could stop thinking about what they had seen. Harry's mind kept racing as he thought about what he would do the next time he saw Draco and what the three-headed dog was guarding. He knew Hogwarts was a safe place to hide something, his parents told him that after one of their cases where something was stolen from Dumbledore himself. It ended up being a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and they recovered the object, but Lily and James couldn't get over how they could've broken into anything at Hogwarts.
Still pondering over this, Harry began to write a letter to Lily and James.
Dear Mom and Dad,
Classes are going great. I'm really having a wonderful time.
Harry looked around him. He was having anything but a good time.
How's work coming along? Do you have any good cases? Well, I can't wait 'til Christmas when I'll see you.
Love,
Harry
He folded the letter slowly, trying to think of something more to say before he sent it off. In no time at all, the morning owl post arrived. Hedwig brought a long, thin package and dropped it near his plate. Harry grabbed the letter on top of the package and ripped it open.
Dear Harry,
Do NOT open this at the breakfast table. Inside is your Nimbus 2000 your mother and I got you before you left for school. Congratulations on making it on the team! I can't say how proud I am. Your mother is in a bit of a state, she doesn't think you received any punishment for breaking the rules. Don't listen to her…you did great! Have fun, and don't show off too much on your broom.
Love,
James
Harry was the happiest he had been since he arrived at Hogwarts. Quickly unfolding the letter for his parents, he wrote, P.S. Thanks for sending me the broom. I can't wait until practice. He folded it back up and tied it to Hedwig, still beaming.
Harry's hatred toward Hogwarts slowly began to dwindle. He figured it had to do with having Quidditch practice three times a week and actually being able to do magic in classes, seeing as they had already mastered the basics.
In Charms, they were going to learn how to make things fly. Harry was paired with Hermione, to his great disgust, and they were to levitate feathers.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry shouted.
"You're saying it wrong," Hermione said. Harry snapped his head toward her, giving her a piercing gaze, and to his surprise, she didn't recoil. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa."
Still holding his gaze, Harry said, "You do it then, if you're so clever."
Hermione smiled and rolled up her sleeves. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather slowly began to rise toward the ceiling.
Harry threw down his wand and sat back in his chair. Professor Flitwick, on the other hand, said, "Well done, well done! Look, everyone! Miss Granger's done it!"
By the end of class, Harry thought he could never hate Hogwarts more than he did now. Ron was running behind him and said, "Harry! I saw what happened. It's--"
"It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends," Harry said, finishing the sentence for Ron, "She's a bloody nightmare, honestly!"
At that same moment, someone bumped into Harry, causing him to drop most of his books. He looked up to see who it was as he saw Hermione running turning round a corner, and she was in tears. Harry finished picking up his books and stood up.
"I think she heard you," Ron said.
"I don't care," Harry snapped as he stormed off toward his next class.
A knot grew in Harry's stomach as the day progressed and he didn't see Hermione in any of the classes. When he was on his way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, he heard Parvati Patil telling Lavender Brown that Hermione had been in the girls bathroom all day, crying. A rush of guilt fled through Harry as he made his way into the Great Hall. The Halloween decorations pushed all guilty thoughts out of Harry's mind, and he was quickly indulged in the feast. He didn't think of the absence of Hermione, once, until he noticed that Ron, too, was missing. But that though was pushed out of his mind the instant more food appeared on the platters.
Just as Harry was helping himself to a baked potato, Professor Quirrell ran into the hall and shouted, "Troll! In the dungeons! Thought you ought to know…" and then slumped onto the ground like a pile of rags.
There was an uproar. Students being screaming and were desperate to leave the Great Hall, causing food to fly everywhere. After a short moment, Dumbledore bellowed, "SILENCE!" The room fell silent.
Dumbledore looked at each of the Prefects and mumbled, "Prefects, lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"
Harry fell back to the end of the line, he didn't like being so close with Gryffindors. How could a Troll get in? They're supposed to be really stupid, Harry thought.
"Where's Ron?" asked a panicked voice.
Harry looked up to see who the voice belonged to, and saw Fred and George looking around the crowd.
"He's probably just up near the front…yeah, don't worry, Fred," said George.
All at once, Harry remembered Hermione and that she wouldn't have known about the Troll. Slowing his pace to fall even farther back, Harry slipped away from the Gyrffindors and quickly headed toward the nearest girls bathroom he could think of.
Upon entering into a new hall, Harry saw a large troll walking in the distance. To his horror, he saw a figure standing right in the middle of the path the troll was walking in. For Merlin's sake! Harry shouted in his head, Get out of there!
Without thinking, he ran straight toward the person. By the time he got to the figure, it was too late. The troll had already seen the both of them and was walking in a slightly quicker pace with its' club raised. Without looking at the person standing to his left, he grabbed their arm and ran into the nearest door. To Harry's surprise, and slight embarrassment, he had run into the girls bathrooms.
Before Harry could let himself become flustered over such trivial things occurring at the moment, he heard a loud crunching noise. To his horror, Harry turned around to see the troll smashing the door down with its' giant club and walking stupidly into the room.
Harry ran into a stall, still dragging the mystery person. Only after he locked the door did Harry notice who he had just saved…
"Weasley?"
Ron's ears turned a slight shade of red. The awkward moment between them was interrupted with a shrill cry. Harry came to his senses and realized that he had found where Hermione was.
Harry pulled out his wand and flew open the door. What he saw made his heart sink. The troll stood towering over a pile wood with its' club raised, and in this pile of wood, laid an unconscious Hermione.
"NO!" Harry shouted, not thinking about what he could do to help. To his surprise, the troll turned around to face Harry, its' club still in the air. Harry stared into the thick eyes of the troll as a sensation he never felt before flooded over him. Fear.
All of Harry's confidence seemed to drain out of him. He stood rooted to the spot, transfixed at the troll now approaching him. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a red blur dart across the room. He tore his eyes away from the hideous troll to find Ron throwing pieces of wood to the side, trying to free Hermione.
Ron threw one of the pieces a little too hard, hitting the troll upside the head and causing it to turn around and change its course. What now terrified Harry was that Ron didn't seem to notice.
"RON! Get Hermione out of there!" Harry shrieked.
He looked up startled, but upon seeing the troll, Ron quickly dragged Hermione from the pile and off to the side. The troll swung the club back and practically threw it and Ron and Hermione, missing them only by inches.
Harry's heart was now beating very fast. He had to do something. Two of his fellow schoolmates were being attacked by a troll with a giant club and were about to be squashed. That's it…the club!
Raising his wand and directing it toward the troll's club, Harry cleared his throat and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
To Harry's relief, the club levitated into the air, hovering over the troll for only a moment until he lowered his wand, causing the club to hit the top of the troll's head. It swayed for a few steps before falling face down on the ground before Ron and Hermione.
"Is it…dead?" Ron asked.
"I don't think so, just knocked out," Harry replied, heading toward where Ron and Hermione lay. "Are you alright, Ron?"
"You called me--" Ron started, but quickly regained himself as he said, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. But I don't know about Hermione. I mean, we didn't exactly see what happened to her…you don't think she got hit by the club, do you?"
Harry's stomach twisted in a sickening, regretful way, "I hope not. In fact, I don't think so. She would be bleeding if she was actually hit, wouldn't she? Come on, we have to take her to the hospital wing."
Ron stood up, pulling Hermione with him. Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione to help Ron carry her, but before they could leave the bathroom, they heard hurried footsteps. Harry swore loudly just before Professor McGonagall came bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape and Quirrell.
Professor McGonagall's fierce gaze reached Harry's, making him quickly look down. "What on earth were you thinking of?" Professor McGonagall asked, with cold fury in her voice. "Why weren't you in your dormitory? And what has happened to Miss Granger?" she added in a slightly softer tone.
"We don't know, Professor," Harry said, slowly looking up.
"Excuse me?"
Swallowing all of his pride, Harry looked back down and continued, "Well, you see Professor, I wanted to fight the troll. I--er--thought I could handle it. Ron and Hermione followed me here, and if it wasn't for them, I would be dead."
Professor McGonagall's eyes flickered, either from anger or mere shock. She tried to clear her throat but only just managed to spit out, "That still doesn't answer my question, Potter."
Harry gave a deep sigh before saying, "When I saw the troll I realized I wouldn't be able to handle it, so I fled. I managed to escape out of this bathroom, but Ron and Hermione were still stuck in here. I heard a scream so I came running back in, to find Hermione laying on the floor."
Professor McGonagall's head tilted sideways, considering what she was hearing. Turning toward Ron, she asked, "Then you saw what happened, Weasley?"
"I--er--she just--" Luckily Ron was cut short by a loud grunt from the troll, causing Quirrell to jump and give a little whimper. Only now did Harry look up. He looked at Snape, who was for some reason staying quiet the entire time. Harry noticed a deep gash across Snape's lower leg, but Snape quickly covered it, arousing Harry's curiosity even more.
"Well," Professor McGonagall continued, "Five points will be taken from Gyrffindor for your serious lack of judgement, Potter." She looked at Ron and Hermione and said, "I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. Weasley and Granger will receive five points for Gryffindor each. Now, take Miss Granger off to the hospital wing, Dumbledore will be informed of this."
Harry and Ron left, carrying Hermione, without saying a word. After they walked in silence for a few minutes, Harry spoke up, "So, er…Why weren't you in the dormitory, Ron?"
"Well, I went to go look for Hermione before the feast…I felt bad she was going to miss out on it. I got lost, though, but once I found out where I was…I saw the troll…and you know what happened then," Ron mumbled the last part.
Silence fell over them again, until Ron spoke up and asked, "Why were you looking for Hermione? I mean, that was what you were doing, isn't it?"
"I--er--well, she was upset from what I said, and I just felt bad…" Harry said, looking down at his feet. "I knew she wouldn't know about the troll being out, and if anything happened to her, then it would've been my fault."
"Oh, so you just didn't want to live with the guilt," Ron said bitterly.
Harry looked up in alarm, "No! No, that's not it! I would've obviously felt guilty, but anyone would've! I just--" He paused for a moment, trying to figure out why exactly he did what he did. "I don't know…I just went with my instincts."
"And why did you tell McGonagall it was your fault?" Ron asked, a nervous tone ringing in his voice.
"It was, wasn't it? I wasn't about to lie," Harry gave a little laugh, "Actually, I guess I did lie a bit. But you have nothing to complain about, so why do you want to know?"
Ron's ears turned red and he looked down, "I just thought that was really nice of you to do."
Harry smiled to Ron, who looked up and beamed as he saw that Harry wasn't going to get angry. "Well, here's the hospital wing. Let's not tell Madam Pomfrey the whole story, I don't feel like explaining things again," Harry said.
"Harry, do you know where my Charms notes are?" Ron asked, looking through a pile of papers on one of the tables in the common room. It was a Thursday morning and Ron and Harry were about to go down to breakfast when Ron remembered he had lost his notes.
"No," Harry said, tying the laces of his shoe.
"Well you better find them," said a voice from the other side of the room. Harry and Ron craned their necks around to find that the source of the voice was none other than Hermione.
Ron gaped and Harry gave a little "Hmph!" before returning to his shoes.
After the events with the cave troll, Harry couldn't bring himself to talk back to Ron. Though his persistence increased, Harry found that at times Ron was enjoyable to be around. As soon as Harry saw Hermione, he swore to himself that he wouldn't let the same thing happen with her.
"How are you feeling, Hermione?" Ron asked, finally letting the shock settle in that Hermione was out of the hospital wing.
"I'd feel better if I knew I had someone's notes to copy off of. So," Hermione said, clicking her tongue impatiently, "Where are they?"
"You want to copy off my notes? Aren't you worried that they would be a bit…inaccurate?"
"It's better than Lavender Brown's. Now hurry up, I want to have them copied by breakfast."
"Glad to see you, too," Harry whispered under his breath, making the sarcasm undetected by Hermione.
Hermione looked up in shock. "Excuse me?" she said in a softer tone.
"I'm going to breakfast," Harry said, rather mechanically, as he walked out of the portrait hole.
"You think she'd at least be a little more friendly toward us," Ron said as he caught up to Harry walking through the doors of the Great Hall.
"Yeah, after all, we were the ones who saved her," Harry replied, taking a seat next to Neville. "Hey, George, can you pass the bacon?"
"So you did save me," said a sharp voice behind Harry. He turned around and saw a panting Hermione right behind him, she had clearly just run from the common room to catch up with them. Dear Merlin, Harry thought, She sure does have a freaky way of sneaking up on people. "If you didn't point fun at me, then perhaps I wouldn't have needed rescuing, mind you."
She flopped down a few seats away from Harry and pulled out a bunch of crumpled notes.
"Are those mine?" Ron asked, peering over a stack of toast.
"You can have them back when I'm done."
Ron opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and just settled with giving Harry a look of utmost mocking toward Hermione.
Harry smiled weakly. It was my fault, there's no point in denying it, he repeated to himself over and over. He looked over at Hermione, who had her face inches from the table and was writing furiously, with a feeling of slight pity and regret.