Summary: The past will come back, the present will change them, now what will the future hold?
Disclaimer: I do not own them, sad but true
A/N: Yes this is an AU fic. Reviews are welcome, flames are shared with friends for amusement.
Chapter 23
Months went by and Harry and Ron had many adventures throughout the castle. They were about to have another that very night and did not even know it. Walking with Hermione, they were losing an argument. None of them noticed as they ascended to the third floor, until each had to stop at the top of the stairs.
Opening the door they all three stepped through to avoid being caught by Filch. It would not bode well for any of them if Snape or McGonagall were to find them out of bounds. As soon as they turned around, they came face to face with a monster, a three-headed monster. Screaming in fright, they ran from the room.
After that close call, the trio stayed clear of all adults. The Halloween feast was coming up. Harry wanted to be able to go, and Severus had said he would not be allowed to if he stepped out of line even once. Soon all Hallow's Eve came and the trio found themselves in Charms class. Professor Flitwick was explaining levitation, and Ron, as usual, was not having any luck with his feather. His frustration only grew when Hermione rolled her eyes and told him that he was doing it wrong.
It was one thing for a friend to help out, but Ron was getting tired of being shown up by a girl all the time. After a couple of explosions, Flitwick dismissed them, and Ron finally let loose all his ire. "It's levi-o-sa, not levio-sa. She is a nightmare, no wonder she hasn't got any friends." Hermione, standing not two feet behind them, ran past, tears streaming down her face.
As she walked toward the common room, her thoughts wandered. Did they really loathe her being smart? Was she supposed to act dumb around them? Being smart had gotten her few friends in her muggle school, and her wizarding friends seemed to resent her, as well. Not really in the mood to face anyone, she went into the girls' bathroom to have a good cry. Several girls had come to try to persuade her to come out, but Hermione had told them all she was not coming out, and to please leave her alone.
Down in the Great Hall, decorations hung everywhere, orange and black to signify the Halloween theme. Harry and Ron were digging into the bounty of candies of every shape and size on the Gryffindor table. Harry had even chanced a glance up at his father and gave him a rare smile. The tranquillity of the room was broken as Professor Quirrell came bounding through the door screaming.
"Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" Everyone froze were they were, everyone that is but Severus, who Harry saw out of the corner of his eye leave through the teacher's door. Quirrell had long since collapsed, and the Great Hall turned into a chaotic mess. Everyone was running and yelling. Harry grabbed Ron's arm and was trying to push past the fourth-year in front of him when the bellowing roar of Dumbledore echoed through the hall.
"Quiet! Prefects will lead the rest of the students back to their dormitories, teachers will follow me."
Harry and Ron were following behind Percy when a thought struck Harry. "Hermione, Ron, she doesn't know about the troll. We have to warn her!"
Sneaking away from Percy they took off for the girls' bathroom. As they came around the last corner, Ron grabbed Harry and threw him against the wall. When Harry glared at him for it, he saw Ron pointing to the troll walking around the corner.
"It seems it left the dungeons."
Gathering up all their courage, both boys burst through the doors of the girls' bathroom. What they saw made their mouths drop in awe.
The troll was enormous, and it was staring right at Hermione. "Hermione move!" was all Harry could say as he and Ron stared in disbelief at the troll. The troll, however, only saw Hermione as something that should be bashed with its club. Raising it high above his head, he brought it down in a sweep, taking out the door Hermione was hiding behind. Shrieking, she crawled over to the next stall. This did not do much good, as the troll took out that one as well. Now Hermione was staring at a fully-grown mountain troll, and her courage fled.
Severus had gone up to the third floor to head off Quirrel, who he knew was going after the stone. Did that man actually take him for a fool? When he rounded the corner, he bounded up the stairs and straight into the door. The dog, it seems, had a better idea and at once lunged for Severus. It missed him, but one of his teeth grazed Severus' leg, putting a deep gash in it. Almost falling to his knees, he dashed back out the door and locked it. As he sat thinking about where Quirrell could be, since he was obviously not there, Quirrell stared at him from his hiding spot behind one of the statues.
Deciding if Quirrell were not here, perhaps he was on the first floor, Severus walked until he caught up with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall coming from the dungeons. "Severus, the troll is not in the dungeons."
"It is not on the third floor, I checked," Severus said, hobbling toward them, the blood staining his pants leg.
All of them were headed back to the second floor to have another look when Percy Weasley came running up to them. He was about to speak when they heard what sounded like someone, or something, tearing down walls. "Get a hold of yourself, Mr. Weasley, and tell us what it is?" Dumbledore said to the boy.
"Ron, Harry, and Hermione… missing... from the common room," Percy said between gasps. The next sound they heard was a high-pitched scream, and Percy's face went white.
"You will go back to the common room, Mr. Weasley, and keep everyone there," instructed Professor Dumbledore. Percy looked ashen again and then almost fainted. Dumbledore caught him right before he hit the floor. "It seems I will be escorting young Mr. Weasley here, I trust you and Minerva can handle the troll?" he asked, gesturing to Severus. As he was about to leave, Quirrell came around the corner. "Ahhh, it seems Professor Quirrell can help you both, off you go now."
Dumbledore had been speaking to the backs of the three as Severus had heard the word Harry screeched. He had forgotten all about his leg as he ran, and Minerva McGonagall had lifted her robes and run right behind him. She was fast, considering her age, and any other time Severus would have been in awe.
When Harry saw Hermione cowering beneath the sink, he ran and, without a real thought, jumped onto the troll. He realized what a stupid thing it had been to do when the troll grabbed him by his leg and took to swing at his head with his club. The pain in Harry's leg from the grip of the troll did not render him unable to get out of the way and quick.
"Do something!" he yelled down at Ron.
"What?" Ron asked as if Harry had gone bonkers.
"Anything," Harry said, hoping it would happen soon, before he passed out as the blood rushed to his head. His own wand was now stuffed up the troll's nose. He did not really want it back now.
"You can do it, just swish and flick," Hermione told Ron from underneath one of the sinks.
Ron pulled out his wand and cried out the charm "Wingardium Leviosa". The troll's club stopped in midair. When the troll looked up to retrieve his weapon and smash the thing beneath his feet, the club bashed him in the head, sending him and Harry to the floor.
"Wicked," Harry said, as he retrieved his wand from the troll's nose.
"Ewwww, troll boogies," Ron said, the distaste showing on his face. Harry wanted to hurl at the grossness of his wand, but his thoughts were halted as he saw not only his head of house, but his father and Professor Quirrell run into the room. All three knew this would not go well.
Severus was not thinking clearly. He saw his son and his two cohorts-in-crime, but he also saw the troll, which should have easily killed them all, knocked out. Scanning the obvious rubble that was once the lavatory, he wondered if they were all right.
Just as he was about to ask, Minerva regained her voice, "Explain yourselves, at once!"
Harry knew he was in for it, and the throbbing in his head was not helping matters. It seemed he was having this pain more and more lately, and he did not want his father knowing about it. As he and Ron turned to explain it all, Hermione saved them by saying she had done it. Thanking every known source he could think of, Harry sighed in relief. He would live to see another day at Hogwarts, well, if he could get out of there fast enough.
The children's excuses were lame at best, and all of them knew it. Severus and Minerva, however, were quite pleased that they had done so well, though they would never reveal it to the youngsters. Harry, Ron, and Hermione half ran, half walked to their common room, and prayed no one would stop them along the way. Two of them were successful, but Harry saw his father leaning by the portrait hole.
"A word if you would, Mr. Potter." Severus said, motioning for Harry to follow him.
Harry followed behind his father wondering what he would ask. What he would say about the troll? Severus gave him no clues, as he did not speak until they were in his private chambers. Closing the door behind him, Severus turned to his son. "I will not comment about the troll and the lack of sense you all had taking it on alone. All I wanted to know is if you are all right? Did you sustain any injuries?"
Harry shook his head no, but his father quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. "I am not the one limping, Dad."
"My leg is not the concern here. We were discussing you, if I am not mistaken. Now would you rather tell me if you have any injuries, or would you like to tell Madame Pomfrey?"
Harry tried backing away just a little, but his leg betrayed him, and he winced ever so slightly. "Nothing, really, my leg just got squeezed a bit is all."
"Come here and let me see it, then," Severus said, pulling a potion from his robes. Soon, not only his leg, but also Harry's head, was on the mend. After a short lecture on heroics and knowing when to find an adult, Harry headed toward the door to leave, but it announced someone was there.
"Who in Merlin's name could be here at this hour? This better be good," Severus said, stalking to the door. Harry stood behind him wondering himself who would be calling this late. When the door opened, he saw Professor Quirrell standing there and at once his scar began to blaze with a new fury.
No one noticed as Severus was busy berating Quirrell for bothering him while he was discussing punishment with a student. After only a few seconds, Harry's world lost focus, and he found himself on the verge of passing out. His stomach churned with unease, and soon he found himself wishing his father would just shut the door and help him to bed. Hoping no one would notice, Harry tried to walk to the bathroom, as he did not wish to be sick in front of the other professor. His eyes tried to focus on the doorway, but the objects in the room blurred with each new stab of pain to his head. Hanging onto the couch, he stood trying to breathe slowly, hoping it would pass. He heard the door slam shut and glanced up at his father, coming towards him. He then fell promptly to the floor, his head finally giving in to the darkness.
When Harry next awoke, he felt much better than he had earlier. Before his mind could even register where he was, his father walked through the door carrying a tray. "Well, good morning, sleepy head, or should I say late morning."
Harry shook off the last remnants of sleep. "Huh, what time is it?"
"It is eleven o'clock, and well past the time for you to be up and about. Considering that you passed out on me, I decided you warranted a lie in. Now, would you like to explain what cause your little episode?"
"I really do not know, honest. One minute I was fine, and then Professor Quirrell came in and I felt like my head would explode."
Severus studied the boy and could see Harry did not know what had caused the pain, but he had some fatherly advice to give. Sitting the tray down on the table, he felt Harry head and then sat down beside him. "I do not know what caused your fainting spell, or your pain, but could it have something to do with you taking on a troll?"
Harry tried to look as small as possible, which was not hard for the petite child. "Dad, really, we had to save Hermione. She could have been killed."
Severus chuckled and then grew quiet stern. "Far be it from me to let you in on a secret, but Ms. Granger is a very smart and capable witch. I think you did a very brave thing to help her, but do not try it again under any circumstances. Do I make myself clear?"
Harry nodded his head yes and gulped at the look his father was giving him. "If you discover a unicorn in your bed, a bicorn in your bathroom, or a house elf in your closet, I want you to come to me. Your courage is a wonderful thing, but I would rather have you in one piece."
"I'm sorry, Dad. I will try to stay out of trouble. It just seems to find me, whether I want it to or not," Harry said, taking the tray his father had placed in his lap.
Severus would never let on just how much it had scared him when Harry collapsed. He had to show Harry he was strong for him. Harry, on the other hand, wondered if anything ever rattled his father. Grabbing the last bit of toast, Harry got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to wash up. After one last checkover from his father, he was allowed to return to the tower and his friends.
