Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using the characters and plots created by J. K. Rowling. There are owned by her and her publishers.
The Janus Order
Chapter 3
Hermione searched through the library seeking Harry. In the two months since the beginning of the term Harry had spent so much of his free time in the library that he quickly acquired the reputation of being a drudge. Most of his fellow Gryffindors were fairly disappointed with him and felt vaguely cheated. Instead of a dashing hero, they wound up with a studious, introverted boy with an odd accent and a strange vocabulary. Harry was friendly enough; no snob he but really just didn't seem Gryffindor material after all.
Hermione, however, was grateful that Harry had been assigned to Gryffindor House. She had thought that Hogwarts would be a new start for her. Naively she had believed that young witches and wizards would be different from the muggles in primary school. She was sure that her intelligence, which had made her an outcast in muggle schools, would be appreciated at Hogwarts. She was wrong.
The taunts and slights she experienced for five years continued in her new environment. Surprising Hermione, the words used to ridicule her were even the same. The only difference was that she now had a friend in Harry Potter. Harry wasn't bothered in the least that Hermione was so intelligent. Hermione suspected that it was due in part to the fact that Harry had intelligent females in his own life. He had spoken of his cousin Lindsey who was now studying magic at the Cape Caution Magick Institute in British Columbia and who aspired to become a veterinarian. Hermione also knew that his Aunt Jane had been the Valedictorian of her graduating class at Hogwarts, the last Gryffindor to have that distinction.
The other reason, Hermione thought, was that Harry was probably as smart as she was even if he wouldn't volunteer any answers in class. In their study sessions, he seemed to keep pace with her without much effort.
She spotted Harry partially hidden in an out of the way nook. He was bent over a book. His face obscured by his hair hanging down as he jotted notes with his right hand. Hermione had a sudden urge to run her hands through that thick mane of black hair. The desire stunned her momentarily. She quickly chased it away and continued over to Harry.
"Hello," Hermione said too brightly as she tossed he book bag on to the table and sat down.
Her jaw tightened slightly as Harry unconsciously ran his left hand through his hair as he looked up. "Hello, Hermione," he replied with a smile. "What brings you here?"
"The fact that most of our classmates don't know that the library exists," Hermione said in an attempt at jocularity.
Harry heard the pain in her voice. He put his notes between the pages and closed his book. He took her hand and waited for her to continue. She shook her head and smiled.
"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said. "But I'm not going to unload on you."
Harry waited.
"It's just that I can't understand why everyone dislikes me," She said. "They have the same books as I do; the same teachers, the same amount of time to study. Why do they get mad at me when I learn what I'm expected to learn?"
Harry nodded but said nothing.
"I show Ron the correct way do the levitating charm and he calls me a nightmare for it," Hermione said. Her voice was steady but ears threatened to fall from her eyes. "I asked Lavender and Parvati if they wanted to study with me but they rather giggle over Teen Witch magazinebut then get cheeky with me because I can't boil down four weeks worth of lessons down to a fifteen minute cram session."
Harry nodded again.
"It's just that…," Hermione stopped then laughed. "I guess I unloaded on you after all. Sorry."
"It's alright," Harry replied.
Hermione disengaged her hand from Harry's clasp. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"
Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Two loners exiled to the library," Hermione said. "Friendless outcasts."
"Back home we'd say 'grab your boots 'cause it's getting deep'."
Hermione quickly put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. She looked around quickly to see if Madame Price would come rushing over to her like an avenging angel but the librarian did not seem to have heard what little noise had escaped from Hermione. She cautiously removed her hand.
"You won't let me wallow in self pity, will you?" Hermione asked.
"It's a waste of time," Harry said.
"You're right," she replied. "So what were you working on?"
"My history assignment," Harry answered.
Hermione thought for a moment. "Professor Binns didn't assign any work."
"My history assignment for my Canadian schooling," Harry clarified.
"You've lost me," Hermione said perplexed.
"No great mystery," Harry replied. "While I am studying magic here at Hogwarts, I am keeping up with what I am expected to learn in the eyes of Canada. Lindsey's lucky. At Cape Caution, they teach this stuff right along side of the magic lessons."
"How can you keep up with your muggle education?" Hermione asked. "They can't fail but to notice that you aren't at your desk."
Harry chuckled. "Hermione, this is the first school building that I have ever been inside of in my life. The nearest town with a school is nearly one hundred miles from the ranch. All of our learning, me and my cousins that is, was done at home although the government has the tests you have to take. There are plenty of kids in Canada who live out away from the towns like I do so they go to school in the same way. Anyway, I've been keeping up with it because I don't want to be a grown man knowing magic but ignorant of everything else. I might want to go to college on day."
"You know, I haven't considered that," Hermione, the daughter of university graduates, said with a puckered brow. "I wonder if there is a program like that for English kids. I'll have to ask Mum to look into that for me. So, did you really live one hundred miles from a town?"
Harry was never much of a conversationalist but it was the first time Hermione had ever asked about his background so he leaned back and began to tell Hermione about his life growing up on a remote cattle ranch in the Rockies near the border of Alberta and British Columbia. He told her how he learned to ride and herd, how to judge range conditions and cattle health, helping with births of foals and calves, of blizzards, of the forest and streams, Calgary Stampeders football, playing with his cousins, and being raised by his aunt and uncle.
"It's almost like you grew up in a different era, Harry," Hermione said. "No wonder you have such a hard time fitting in with the others here."
"I didn't think that I wasn't fitting in," Harry said truthfully.
"Harry," Hermione countered. "You're alone with me of all people in the library while a feast is going on. How much of a part of the crowd do you think you are?"
"There's a feast going on now?" Harry asked.
Hermione gave him a peculiar look. "It's Halloween night. You know, the biggest witch holiday on the calendar. Tons of sweets in the Great Hall. Special decorations."
"Is it suppertime already?" Harry asked.
"Harry, you may be different but you're still a boy," Hermione joshed. "C'mon, Let's go eat."
Book bags in hand, Harry and Hermione left the library. The halls and stairwells were deserted as they wound their way down to the great hall. To the surprise of Harry and Hermione, the hall was empty and dark.
"Are you sure about the time," Harry asked.
"Of course I am," Hermione responded. "I don't understand where everyone is."
Harry gave the vacant hall one last glance. "Well, never mind. I have some fruit in my room we can eat."
"Aren't you the least bit curious as to why there is no one here," Hermione asked.
"It's strange but staring at an empty room on an empty stomach is not a likely way to figure out much," Harry answered.
Hermione grinned. "You are the most practical kid that I have ever met, Harry."
The two of them turned away from the hall and started back to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione thought about where everyone was. Harry thought about Louis Reil and the North-West Rebellion. Their steps echoed hollowly down the deserted corridor.
"What is that smell?" Hermione exclaimed suddenly.
Before Harry could guess the question became moot as a mountain troll came around the corner. With a savage growl, the troll raised a massive club and began to shamble toward the pair.
Harry and Hermione, being exceptional clever children, hit upon an exceptional clever plan simultaneously.
"Run!" they yelled at each other.
Unfortunately, as they spun around, arms, legs, and book bags all tangled together and both of them crashed to the floor. Harry separated himself from Hermione and leaped up brandishing his wand. Hermione scrambled on her hands and knees to where her own wand had landed when it fell out of her bag. In a flash she was beside Harry.
"What do you think about the disarming spell?" she asked.
"On three," Harry replied. "One, Two, THREE!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The spells shot from the wands of the students and caught the troll squarely in the chest. The club went bouncing down the passageway as the massive beast fell to one knee, breathing heavily. He struggled to regain his footing.
Harry and Hermione slowly backed up a few paces. They kept their wands before them. The troll finally stood and took one ragged step forward.
"Stunner?" Harry asked.
Hermione smiled savagely. "On three. One, Two, Three!"
'Stupefy!"
Once again the troll took two spells squarely in the chest. This time it was too much for him. Without any attempt to break his fall, the troll toppled over on his face. Dust was shook from the ceiling the reverberations of the huge creature's collapse.
Harry thought that his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and slowly expelled it.
"Is it dead?" Hermione asked in a shaky voice.
"I'm not sure if it is or isn't," Harry said. "Anyway, it sounds as if the Mounties are coming."
Professors McGonagall and Quirrell came rushing around the corner. Professor McGonagall gasped as she spotted the prone unmoving troll.
"Explain yourselves," she demanded as Professor Snape limped up behind her. "Why aren't the two of you in your dormitory with the others?"
"We came down from the library to join the feast but found the hall empty," Harry started.
"We were going to the tower when we met the troll," Hermione quickly continued.
"We tried to run away but we ended up tripping over each other," Harry admitted sheepishly.
"Flight didn't work so we chose to fight," Hermione added. "We tried the disarming spell which sent his club flying but while the spell weakened him, it didn't stop him."
"So we nailed him with the stunning spell," Harry finished.
Professor McGonagall looked back and forth between the two students and then sighed heavily. "Do you two have any idea how lucky you were? There are very few first year students could survive an encounter with a full grown mountain troll and live to tell about it."
"You do them an injustice, Professor," Professor Snape spoke up from behind her. "I don't see luck at work here but wit and skill. Don't you agree that the handling of the troll was quite skillful, Professor Quirrell?"
Professor Quirrell gave his colleague a blank look. "Yes, it was quite a demonstration of skill," he said in an odd tone of voice.
Professor McGonagall glanced at the two men then returned her attention to her students. She placed a hand on a shoulder of both of them. She peered over her glasses and looked them deep into their eyes.
"At least you two had the sense to try and escape first but Professor Snape is correct. You two have shown unexpected skill in dealing with the troll. Please be careful in the future and don't allow this little victory make you brash and forget to continue to study and improve."
"Yes, Professor," Hermione said.
"I'm sure that there are more fearsome things to be faced then a mountain troll, Professor," Harry replied. "I have no plans of slacking off."
Minerva raised an eyebrow at Harry. She often wondered what went through his mind knowing that his ultimate purpose here was to prepare for a life or death confrontation.
"You two get back to the tower," she said warmly as she gave each of them a tiny squeeze. "I think that five points should be awarded to each of you. Now go."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry and Hermione said together.
McGonagall turned and barked. "Trolls fall under your expertise, Professor Quirrell, so take care of him. I'm off to find the Headmaster. Tell any of the faculty or staff that you meet that the danger has passed, Professor Snape."
As McGonagall disappeared down the corridor, Snape stepped around the fallen troll. He waited as Harry and Hermione retrieved their bags and scattered books before walking with them toward their dormitory.
"Has Professor Flitwick taught either of those spells in Charms class yet?" he asked when they were some distance from the troll.
"No," Hermione answered.
"I know that Quirrell couldn't have possibly taught anything as practical as those two spells in his class," Snape said not bothering to hide his distain for his fellow teacher.
"Hermione and I practice spells on our own sometimes," Harry responded. "Like you, we thought that they would be very handy spells to know. Are you hurt, Professor?"
"Yes, slightly," he replied. "As much as I enjoy your company, I am walking with you because the infirmary is this way also."
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"Let's just say that, unlike you Miss Granger, I need no one's help to fall down," Professor Snape said with a grin.
