Disclaimer: JKR owns all Harry Potter content, and I am a lowly writer bored out of his mind using it for fun.

Chapter 3

With their routine study sessions, it didn't take long for Harry to become not only friends, but best friends with Hermione. They partnered together at every available opportunity in classes, they sat next to one another at meals, and they spent much of their free time either reading or studying together. Harry even invited her to come to Hagrid's after the Gamekeeper had invited him on Friday afternoon, which she had happily accepted. Hagrid had instantly taken a liking to her as she asked him all sorts of questions about what it was like to work at Hogwarts, while Harry surreptitiously read an article in the Daily Prophet about a failed break-in at Gringotts on the same day he and Hagrid had gone there.

Despite the occasional drawback – many of the Slytherins did not like Harry at all, and that included the Head of House and Potions professor Severus Snape – Harry was very much enjoying his time at Hogwarts. Not only did he have a best friend in Hermione, but he also had come to truly befriend the rest of the Gryffindors in his year, albeit not to the same extent as Hermione. He was doing quite well in his classes, even earning an Outstanding on the Transfiguration exam, and he was excited to learn how to fly on a broomstick, whenever that would happen.

Unfortunately, that excitement would be put to the test – the first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins were to have their first Flying lessons together on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Harry was apprehensive about making a fool out of himself in front of Draco Malfoy, who had taken up the habit of insulting Harry every chance he got, while Hermione was terrified of not grasping the concept of flying at all.

"It's just not something I can learn out of a book," She lamented as they left the Great Hall on Thursday.

"Oh, what a shame," Ron huffed from behind them. "Harry, are you excited?" His tone turned considerably lighter.

"Sure," Harry grunted absent-mindedly, too busy trying to remember what Hermione had told him she learned about flying in Quidditch Through the Ages to actually be listening to the redhead.

They reached the smooth, flat lawn where their lessons were to be held. The Slytherins had already arrived and were leering at the Gryffindors menacingly. Harry had no doubts that every single one of the Slytherins was at least familiar with a broom, although he doubted all of them had come close to crashing into helicopters like Malfoy claimed he had. Madam Hooch quickly directed the students to stand by a broom. Hermione quickly moved to Harry's right while Ron slipped to his left.

At Madam Hooch's instruction, everyone held their right hand over their broom and yelled "UP!"

Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, much to his surprise. He felt his eyes bulge out of his head in surprise as he looked around and realized that most of the others had been largely unsuccessful. Hermione's had simply rolled over, Ron's had hovered a few inches off the ground before dropping, and Neville's broom never budged.

"How did you do that?" Hermione whispered, her expression a mixture of shock and awe. He simply shrugged, turning to look at the broom in his hand. After a few minutes, Madam Hooch showed everyone how to properly mount a broom without falling. Just as the class was ready to try and kick off – Harry could feel the blood coursing through his veins in anticipation – tragedy struck, and Neville inadvertently took off, only to fall and break his wrist.

"Neville!" Harry and Hermione cried out, immediately dropping their brooms to run over, but Madam Hooch ordered them back in line. The Flying instructor ordered the class to stay put while she took Neville to the Hospital Wing.

"Did you see his face?" Malfoy roared with laughter the moment Madam Hooch was out of earshot. It didn't take long for the other Slytherins to burst out laughing as well.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati Patil snapped, her eyes narrowing.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl Harry had grown to dislike almost as much as Malfoy, snickered. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"How about we break your wrist Parkinson, and see how you take it?" Seamus Finnegan snarled.

"How dare you?" Pansy shrieked, but she took a couple of steps back.

"Don't be scared, Pansy," Malfoy sneered. "They're all just as pitiful as Longbottom."

"You talk quite a bit for someone who's too scared to walk around without two gorillas by his side," Lavender Brown piped up.

"Can they even read?" Ron added, motioning to Crabbe and Goyle, who cracked their knuckles menacingly. "Or did daddy's money get them in so that you could have your precious bodyguards?"

"Who do you think you are to talk about money, Weasley?" Malfoy hissed. "What are you all, some sort of pathetic Gryffindor gang? Trying to defend that clumsy oaf Longbottom?" Before anyone cold offer a retort, he darted forward and snatched something out of the grass. "Look at this! It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

It was the Remembrall that Neville had received in the mail that morning.

Harry stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Give it here, Malfoy." Instantly, everyone stopped talking to watch. Harry could feel the eyes of his peers boring into him, but he didn't flinch.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up in a tree?" Malfoy smiled nastily. With that, he kicked off the ground, and Harry realized that the blonde could fly quite well. He hovered up to the topmost branches of an oak tree and beckoned for Harry to come and follow him.

Harry immediately grabbed his broom, but a hand tugged at the sleeve of his robes. He turned and saw Hermione staring at him, white-faced with terror. "Harry, you can't! Madam Hooch said not to move, you'll get us all into trouble."

Harry hesitated, his eyes flickering between Hermione's worried expression and Malfoy's distant sneer. "Not everyone," He shook his head. "Just me."

"You could be expelled!" She hissed, her voice frantic. "Harry, please –"

"I don't like bullies," Harry said calmly. Hermione's voice seemed to die in her throat, and Harry took the opportunity to kick off the ground and rocket towards Malfoy with an elegance and grace that surprised everyone present, himself most of all.

"I don't believe it," Hermione said flatly when Harry sat next to her at dinner and recounted to the rest of the first-year Gryffindors what had happened after he had caught Neville's Remembrall.

"I still can barely believe it," Harry admitted with a sheepish smile.

"So, you're the new Seeker?" Ron, who was sitting across from Harry, asked incredulously. "Wicked. My brother was a Seeker, too."

"Charlie, right?" Harry asked, and Ron grinned. "Yeah, Professor McGonagall mentioned him. Do you know a lot about Quidditch?"

"Loads," Ron answered in between mouthfuls of pie.

"Good, because I barely know a thing," Harry confessed. "You reckon you could give me a few pointers?" Ron Weasley looked ready to die of happiness as he nodded. "Great," Harry smiled and turned to Hermione. "Do you still not believe me?"

"I mostly can't believe that you didn't get expelled," She frowned.

"Me neither," Harry shrugged. "But…I think there are some things worth breaking rules for." Hermione gave him a skeptical look. "Defending friends, for example. Wouldn't you at least bend a rule or two to help a friend of yours?"

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together in thought, but before she could answer a snide voice made itself heard behind Harry.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" Harry didn't even have to turn around to know that Malfoy was sneering.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry said coolly as he glanced over his shoulder to see that Crabbe and Goyle were flanking Malfoy once again.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," The blonde retorted irritably. "How about –"

"You did take him on," Hermione cut him off, to the surprise of everyone within earshot. "You took him on today, during Flying lessons, and you lost. Do you want to lose again, is that it?"

Malfoy looked like he'd been slapped across the face, and Crabbe and Goyle looked even more dumbstruck than usual. Harry was equally floored that Hermione had engaged with the Slytherins; every time one of them tried to antagonize Harry or Gryffindor as a whole she always made a point of staying out of it.

"If that will be all," Hermione said tersely, grabbing her bag and getting to her feet. "I'm off to the library. Harry?" She glanced down at her still stunned best friend, who blinked before quickly getting to his feet. He grabbed his bag and followed her out of the Great Hall, past a spluttering Malfoy and an awestruck Gryffindor table.

"That was brilliant!" Harry grinned once they were out of the banquet hall. "I've never seen Malfoy look like that!"

"Yes, well," Hermione shrugged, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "I suppose that was rather gratifying."

"And you never get into it with the Slytherins!" Harry continued, still sporting a smile that could span an ocean. "Why the sudden change?"

"Well, it's not quite the same as breaking rules," Hermione said slowly, "but you did sort of inspire me to defend my friends." She paused, glancing over to Harry and giving him a shy smile. Harry returned it before darting his eyes down to his shoes as his cheeks grew warm. He wracked his brain desperately to try and recall someone who had ever felt compelled to defend him and came up empty. His lips curved into another smile as he glanced back at Hermione, who was now staring straight ahead once again. He decided he quite liked having friends.

Between Quidditch practices three times a week, the growing amounts of homework in every class, and Harry's tendency to spend his free time studying away with Hermione, time began to fly at Hogwarts, and it was the thirty-first of October before any of them knew it. The smell of baked pumpkin wafted through the corridors, providing the ideal start to the day. The Gryffindors had Charms, and everyone was excited to learn the Levitation Charm.

Unfortunately, Flitwick assigned random partners when it came to practicing the spell. Harry had no qualms about being with Seamus – the Irish wizard was quite chipper and the two of them had always been nice to one another – but he felt a twinge of disappointment at seeing that Hermione had been paired with Ron instead of him. However, he was quickly able to lose himself in practicing the Charm. Hermione had rubbed off on him enough that he had read ahead in the Charms textbook, and after several tries, he got his feather to float a few inches off the ground. Seamus, inspired by his partner's success, took it upon himself to attempt the spell. Unfortunately, Seamus prodded the feather after several unsuccessful attempts and set it on fire.

"Sorry about that," Seamus muttered as Harry put the flames out. "I've got a bit of a nasty habit of setting things on fire."

"At least it keeps you on your toes," Harry shrugged, and the pair shared a chuckle at that. Harry tried the spell again and was pleased to see that he got it even higher than the last time, earning himself ten points for Gryffindor as Flitwick noticed.

Harry turned instinctively to see if Hermione had noticed, only to frown as he saw that she was too busy admonishing Ron to notice much of anything.

"You're going to take someone's eye out!" She snapped, grabbing the redhead's wand arm. "Besides, you're saying it wrong."

She tried to coach Ron through the proper pronunciation, but he seemed too miffed by Hermione's remarks to actually try and learn it. His displeasure was only amplified when she successfully cast the spell even better than Harry had, sending her feather floating four feet above their heads. It wasn't long after that when Flitwick dismissed the class and left to decorate the Great Hall, moving as fast as his half-goblin legs would carry him.

Harry and Hermione had agreed earlier that morning to go to the library and prepare for their upcoming Astronomy exam after class, so Harry was eager to pack up his belongings and meet her at the door. Just as he had slung his bag over his shoulder and was ready to walk to the exit, a familiar face stepped up to block him.

"I don't know how you do it," Ron grunted, still clearly in a bad mood. Seamus awkwardly bade the two of them goodbye and left, and soon the only people left in the room were Harry and Ron, with Hermione hovering in the doorway expectantly.

"The Levitation Charm?" Harry asked. "It is pretty difficult; I'll give you that. It took me a lot of tries, but it was mostly in the wand movement, I –"

"I'm not talking about the stupid spell," Ron scowled. "I'm talking about how you could possibly be friends with her."

"What do you mean?" Harry tilted his head. "Are you talking about Hermione?"

"Of course I'm talking about Hermione!" Ron snapped, his ears burning bright red. "She's a nightmare, honestly! I don't think anyone can stand her! Are you only pretending to be friends with her so you can get good grades?"

Before Harry could muster a response, a sobbing sound from the door caught his attention. A mane of bushy brown hair whipped around the corner and out of sight, and he didn't even have to see Hermione's face to know that his best friend was in tears. He turned back to Ron, his jaw clenching so tightly he expected his molars to crack at any second.

"Hermione's my friend. My best friend," He said firmly. "She's really, truly my friend. If you want to be my friend, you're going to have to stop treating her like this," He gestured vaguely with his hand, but the message was crystal clear. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help my friend." He stepped around Ron but stopped turning to face him one more time. "I don't like bullies, Ron. I didn't think you were, but..."

He sighed and adjusted the strap of his bag before striding out of the classroom, leaving Ron to mull his words over. He knew she had turned right after exiting and decided to follow her path as best as he could.

As he walked purposefully through the labyrinth of corridors and staircases, bits and pieces of conversations with Ron floated back to him. Ron's incredulousness when Harry told him that he wanted to read with Hermione. His refusal to even consider going to the library with him and Hermione. The cold tone he always addressed her with compared to the lighter, warmer one he used with nearly everyone that wasn't a Slytherin. Harry couldn't believe he hadn't spotted it before. Ron could not stand Hermione.

As Harry took a guess at a junction of corridors and turned left, he found himself wondering how he had been so blind. Ron, despite not liking Hermione one bit, had been a good friend to Harry. He had told him a few useful things about the magical world on the Hogwarts Express, and ever since Harry had made the Quidditch team a month prior he had shown him all sorts of beneficial tips and tricks about the sport.

Harry didn't think Ron was cruel, like Malfoy or his Slytherin cronies, but he was certainly unkind at times. As he turned at another intersection of corridors, he found himself hoping that the good traits Ron showed towards him were the real Ron, and that the negative traits he showed towards Hermione were the products of bad moods or something similar.

As Harry walked past a series of doors, he swore he heard a sniffling sound from behind one of them. His heart shrunk in on itself as he imagined his best friend crying behind a closed door like he had been forced to do so many times. Torn between wanting to respect her privacy and doing whatever he could to comfort his best friend, he eventually decided to knock on the door.

"Hermione?" He called hesitantly. No response. Trying the handle, he realized it was locked. Fortunately, one of his most recent study sessions with Hermione included memorizing the Unlocking Charm. Drawing his wand from the pocket of his robes, he pressed it against the lock and muttered "Alohomora."

The lock clicked out of place and Harry quickly turned the handle and slipped inside. Just as he closed the door behind him, he realized that he had not actually entered a room, and that Hermione was not in here. He was in a corridor, and the sniffling sound he had heard from outside hailed from the enormous three-headed dog that was staring down at him. He was fairly certain that the only reason he had not been the monster's early lunch by now was that his unexpected entrance had taken the dog by surprise.

Fighting the urge to let out a yell of panic, he fumbled behind him for the door handle. He vaguely recalled being chased into a tree when he was younger by his uncle's sister's bulldog, and that she had claimed it was Harry's fault because he had made the mistake of looking the dog in the eye. Immediately, Harry dropped his eyes down to the floor in hopes of not angering the beast in front of him any further. As he did so, he just barely caught sight of a trapdoor beneath the dog's gigantic paws before he managed to open the door behind him and he tumbled out.

Slamming the door shut and muttering Colloportus, the Locking Spell, he released a breath that he didn't notice he'd been holding and placed his hands on his knees. He glanced around and realized that he was on the third floor; he had just been inside the forbidden third-floor corridor, and he now knew better than almost everyone in the castle why it was forbidden.

Giving himself a little shake and thanking his lucky stars he had not frozen up out of fear, he walked briskly out of the corridor and back in the direction that he had come from, desperately hoping that he would not run into any teachers until he had put enough distance between himself and the forbidden corridor. Thankfully, he was able to descend back to the first floor before he ran into a teacher, and Professor Flitwick was too busy running back and forth with Halloween decorations to give Harry the time of day.

Harry continued to scour the corridors for Hermione, ignoring the throngs of students that were making their way towards the Great Hall for lunch as the morning turned into the afternoon. He poked his head into the Great Hall once he was certain everyone had arrived for lunch, but there was no sign of Hermione. Sighing, he turned and resumed his search.

His efforts were in vain, as lunch concluded and soon enough it was time for History of Magic. Harry waited until the last possible second to enter the corridor where the classroom was held, but was disappointed to see that there was no sign of Hermione in the crowd of students waiting outside the door. Harry quickly deduced that if Professor Binns lacked the observational skills to notice that half of his students fell asleep every class, the ghost would not notice if Harry was absent and would therefore not take points away from Gryffindor.

With that, he turned on his heel and continued looking for Hermione. Needing to duck into one of Hogwarts's many hidden alcoves or behind a suit of armor anytime he heard footsteps, his search was less efficient than before, but he would not be deterred. He had been brought to tears by unkind words before, and he knew that on any one of those occasions he would have given anything to have had just one person come check on him and show that they cared that he was hurting.

He was not successful for another hour. After the bell had rung and signaled the end of class, he wandered past a door on the first floor and heard sniffling sounds once again. Thankfully, he was fairly confident that these sounds were those of a human, considering that he was standing just outside a girls' restroom. Once again, he felt torn between knocking and staying silent, but he quickly decided that he had not spent the entire afternoon wandering the corridors and dodging teachers just to do nothing when he finally found Hermione. Tentatively, he knocked on the door.

"Hermione?" He called. He heard the sniffling on the other side cease almost immediately. There were a few seconds of tense silence, but Harry never pulled his ear away from the closed door.

"Harry?" She finally called back. "Is that you?"

"It's me," He said awkwardly. Another uncomfortable silence ensued, before the door was suddenly wrenched open and he felt himself being yanked inside.

"What are you doing here?" She asked curtly. Harry didn't answer at first; he was too busy processing the sight before him. Hermione's usually warm brown eyes were now red-rimmed and empty, with a few glistening tears still hanging on her lashes. Her shoulders were slumped in what could only be described as defeat, and she was fiddling with the sleeves of her robes in a vain attempt to keep him from noticing that her hands were trembling.

"I've been looking for you," He answered quietly.

"Why?"

Harry hated the sound of her voice cracking. He hated how upset she looked. He hated everything about how she looked nothing like the passionate, tenacious Hermione he had met and befriended two months prior.

"Because you're my friend," Harry said. "My best friend, actually." He paused, but Hermione said nothing. She was barely even meeting his eyes. "What Ron said, what he implied, was rubbish. You really are my best friend, Hermione. Why else would I skive off lunch and History of Magic to look for you?"

"You…you skipped lunch?" Hermione frowned at him, her eyes still shining with tears. "You shouldn't have done that, Harry."

"I don't mind," He shrugged. "Not really used to eating loads of food, anyway. Plus, you're more important."

Hermione's lips twitched into a brief smile, and Harry fought the urge to whoop with triumph. "You shouldn't have skipped class, either," She finally said, her voice wavering less now.

"There are some things worth breaking rules for," He gave a small smile that Hermione returned.

"Thank you for coming for me, Harry, but I'm fine," She sighed, wiping her eyes. "I just, I can't help but feel like…" She trailed off, fresh tears running down her cheeks. "I just feel…"

"I know how you feel," Harry said softly, averting his eyes after his admission. Hermione hitched her breath and promptly flung her arms around him and wrapped him into a tight hug. He froze up instinctively, having not expected such a reaction, before he tentatively wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. She sobbed into his shoulder, her fingers clutching tightly at the back of his robes, and Harry simply stood there and let her.

"I don't suppose this does much to dissuade the notion that I'm a nightmare, does it?" Hermione murmured into his shoulder in between sniffles.

"You're not a nightmare," Harry said genuinely. "If anything…well, I've never really had friends before. But I always wanted one, so if anything, you're a dream come true for me."

Hermione tightened her arms around him and let out several shaky breaths. Eventually she pulled away, her eyes still red and puffy and her lashes still glistening. But when she met Harry's eye, she flashed him a smile that was positively radiant, and he happily returned it. "Feel any better?" He asked hesitantly.

"Much better," She whispered, still smiling. Her eyes darted down to his shoulder and blushed. "Sorry I soaked your robes," She mumbled.

"It's alright," Harry shrugged. "As long as you feel better."

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said in a soft voice. They simply stared at one another for a moment, their eyes never leaving each other's as they exchanged small smiles. Then, they both froze. Harry immediately put a finger to his lips, but it was unnecessary, as Hermione had clapped both hands over her mouth in fright. What sounded like gigantic footsteps were growing louder and louder, and along with it a foul stench that made Harry gag. There was something in the corridor outside; all Harry knew about it was that it was enormous, it smelled awful, and he had no desire to interact with it.

Naturally…

CRASH

Harry whipped his head towards the wall of the bathroom that bordered the corridor. A twelve-foot-tall hole had been gouged out, revealing an ugly gray mountain troll carrying a gargantuan wooden club. Its beady black eyes zeroed in on the two students in front of it and it began lumbering into the bathroom. Hermione let out a scream of terror and Harry instinctively grabbed her arm, dragging her to the far wall and pressing himself flat against it. The troll moved towards them and lifted its club straight above its head.

Forcing himself not to freeze up in terror, Harry shoved Hermione as hard as he could to the right before leaping to his left. The club collided with the tiled floor right where the two of them had been standing a moment earlier. Hermione seemed to snap out of her shock and quickly clambered away from the troll, but it saw her and raised its club again, turning to face her. Hermione screamed again and began backpedaling, only to reach one of the bathroom's corners, leaving her with no escape. The troll stomped towards her, lifting its weapon higher and higher.

Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid. He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. Incidentally, his wand – which he had pulled out the moment the troll came crashing in – ended up shoved far into the troll's nose. The monster howled with pain and flailed its arms and club, but Harry refused to let go even as he was flung about like a ragdoll.

"Is that Harry?"

"Oh my god, it's Harry!"

"And there's Hermione!"

"Professor, do something!"

Harry tried to turn his head towards the multitude of voices, but he could barely see straight thanks to the thrashing movements of the troll. Suddenly, without warning, the troll froze, then promptly collapsed. Harry just managed to avoid being crushed by leaping away and landing in a heap on the floor several meters away. He glanced over to see that the troll was now fast asleep, his wand vibrating with the force of the monster's exhales. He turned towards the door and scrambled to his feet immediately, shocked by the sight in front of him.

Professor McGonagall was staring at him, her lips pressed impossibly tight together as she glowered. Her wand was still in her hand and Harry quickly realized that she had clearly charmed the troll into some sort of slumber. Behind her, either trembling with fear or staring in awe, were the rest of the first-year Gryffindors.

"Mister Potter," McGonagall said icily. "Just what are you doing in here?"

Before Harry could answer, Hermione walked slowly from her corner, her eyes locked onto her shoes. "He came for me, Professor McGonagall. It's my fault."

"I doubt that the fault is entirely yours, Miss Granger," McGonagall huffed. "It has become clear to me that the two of you were not present at tonight's Halloween Feast, am I correct?" She continued, her eyes flashing. Harry and Hermione nodded meekly, the latter moving forward so that she was standing next to the former. "Well, due to your absence, you missed the announcement that a troll was let loose in the castle this evening."

For a split second, Harry felt tempted to say something along the lines of 'What? No way!' but his Head of House already looked angry enough.

"All students were instructed to return to their dormitories," McGonagall pressed on. "However, your friends realized that you two would not be aware of this announcement and came to me. When I asked how they knew where you were, Miss Patil and Miss Brown informed me that they had heard Miss Granger crying in this very lavatory." She paused, turning to Ron, who gulped. "When I asked why on Earth Miss Granger would be crying in a lavatory, Mister Weasley spoke up."

Harry thought his jaw was going to put a hole in the floor.

"Mister Weasley will be deducted twenty-five points for his behavior, as well as serve detention," McGonagall continued. "Miss Granger, Mister Potter, you will both be deducted five points for your absence in your afternoon classes. Mister Potter," she turned to Harry and gave him a pensive stare, "you will be awarded forty points for selflessly putting the needs of another student in front of your own.

"That will be all," She concluded. "To your common room, now please."

The Gryffindors did not need to be told twice. The moment they were out of earshot, Harry went to ask Ron why he had come clean to McGonagall, but he was cut off by a bone-crushing hug from Hermione.

"You saved me," She whispered. "You jumped on that troll's back. You saved my life."

"Er…I guess," Harry blushed as the rest of the Gryffindors stopped and watched the embrace. Lavender raised her eyebrows, and Harry made a point of looking up at the ceiling with great interest.

"You saved my life," Hermione repeated, pulling back from the hug and beaming at him. He smiled back, hoping his face didn't look as red as it felt. With that, the Gryffindors resumed their march to Gryffindor Tower.

A/N: If you're reading this, you're reading an edited version of this chapter. The original version paled in comparison and looking back on it, I wanted to bash my brains out with a baseball bat for writing it. I suppose it wasn't terrible, but I was not proud of it. This, however, I am proud of. I hope you enjoyed it.