Chapter Six: Trolls and Quidditch
BananaCarrot-Five
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter is owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment and J.K. Rowling.
October 27, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hermione was woken up by a set of paws and several "merow"s. She opened her eyes and smiled, pleasantly surprised that her cute cat, Crookshanks, had decided to wake the sleeping witch today. With an affectionate belly rub, Crooks hopped off her bed and back to his spot, a cleared area under her bed, which had just enough space for the cat to live in. Crookshanks had made it very clear to Hermione that he hated that vile carrier cage.
As such, Crooks spent most of his days at Hogwarts in his makeshift home, and at night, wandering the castles' nooks and crannies, and sometimes venturing out close to the Forbidden Forest, often chatting with the nearby Acromantula population. Crooks also took a liking to Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig, who was one of the kindest owls he had ever met. It was a shame that their owners could not connect in such a deep way as Crookshanks and Hedwig were doing.
Like his owner, Crookshanks hated flying. Hedwig had taken him up for a flight days after Hermione's first broom lesson, and quickly learned he hated heights too. Hedwig started the running joke of Hermione's pet matching her qualities, notably hating flying and heights. Both animals had something to look forward to, however. Harry Potter was going to be flying in the upcoming Quidditch match on Saturday. Both pets had been planning where they would sit for the past month. This would be a fun week for both people and pets.
Back to reality, Hermione hopped out of bed and pulled out Hogwarts: A History to hopefully find some new information about Quidditch. She quickly debunked that, however. She would need a Quidditch book to learn about Quidditch. That led her to the library after breakfast with Harry, who was tired from Quidditch Practice that morning, and Neville. While the boys wrote out their History Essay, Hermione went through the shelves to find books on Quidditch. She soon realized there were several copies, but the one she wanted was titled Quidditch Through the Ages. Hermione eagerly picked it out and properly checked it out from Madam Pince, the librarian. She then made her way to Harry and Neville, with a big smile on her face.
"Pack up! We're going to the Common Room!" she (slightly) loudly exclaimed.
"Hermione Granger yelling in a library. Thought I'd never see that day," Neville laughed and Harry softly smiled. The trio quickly made their way back to the Common Room. As it was a Sunday, the Common Room was mainly empty. Hermione hopped into her usual seat, with the boys taking two other seats next to her. Harry and Neville shared a knowing look, Hermione perched herself on the chair, book open, eyes wide and a smile dancing on her lips. After about twenty minutes, Hermione pulled her eyes off the book and put them on Harry.
"So, Harry. There's a lot more to Quidditch than what Wood taught you. First off…"
While Hermione was teaching Harry Quidditch from the book, Neville was going thru his and Harry's notes. Harry didn't interrupt Hermione, but when he had looked into Quidditch after he got on the team, Quidditch Through the Ages was the first book he read cover to cover. He was just too shy and stubborn to tell her that. Hermione went on about Quiddich, and Neville went to his own thing. Since Hermione had railed him onboard to her study sessions, Neville had to adapt, and quickly. He sorted out the pages of notes Harry's quill wrote out, his own notes, and if Hermione was preoccupied, her notes too. He could tell whose writing was whose based on the format. Harrys' was straight monotone letters, while Hermione's was neat and curvy, with elegance. His own notes were three notches below Harry's, but were still decent, especially Herbology. The only painful portion was sorting out the pre-written notes.
Due to the properties of the Dictation spell, the notes taken were in the style of writing that the casted user uses. As Harry's handwriting was a monotone font, both his and Hermione's notes, when being written by Harry's spell, write using Harry's writing style, heance why Hermione was so against using the spell. One would think she would have learned the spell by now, however, she hadn't.
Neville had asked her about it after Defense class one day and Hermione had replied stating she didn't want to have a reason to be lazy, so she refused to learn the spell. She still let Harry cast the spell on her quill, though, strange.
After about an hour of back-and-forth banter regarding Quidditch between Harry and Hermione, Neville hopped in and suggested some revisions. Poor boy forgot that willingly wanting study time put Hermione into overdrive, thus making his, and by extension Harry's, Sunday afternoon slow and informative.
"Remind me to recommend Hermione to Wood, ey Neville?" Harry joked. Overhearing this and as punishment, Hermione smacked his arm with the book, causing Harry to look at her while she smirked and struggled to hide her giggles. Neville was laughing too. Soon, Harry gave in, and chuckled too. What a day.
\-0-0-/
October 28, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
After Quidditch and breakfast, Harry, Neville, and Hermione headed to Transfiguration. With a Transfiguration exam on Wednesday, Hermione was in super hyper overdrive mode. If Neville and Harry didn't care about her well-being, they would have laughed at the fact she was stressing so much over the small Exam.
"I wonder what she'll look like when we study for finals," Neville whispered to Harry. Harry struggled to suppress a laugh.
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall led a practical review. Unfortunately, she handed out a review packet that would aid the students for the Wednesday Exam. Hermione had declared that the trio would fill the packet out in full that evening. Harry and Neville knew not to decline, plus, why not. Spending time with Hermione is a good thing, right?
The joys Harry was thinking out were evaporated in Potions, where Snape seemed to insult his every other minute. Potter this and Potter that. Heading to lunch, Harry again pulled Professor McGonagall aside to complain about Professor Snape's behavior towards him. Angered, she had Harry think of the interaction as she pulled a copy of the memory from his head. After dealing with the student's complaints, and the Headmaster's rejections for nearly ten years, the Transfiguration Professor quickly departed the Hall, presumably to her office. She was through with him. If Severus wanted to abuse his teaching position, then he would get justice served his way. Minerva decided to skip the Headmaster, something September 1982 McGonagall would have protested heavily against, and go straight to the Board of Governors with a case against Severus Snape's behavior.
Harry set his quill to write the notes for him, Neville, and a reluctant Hermione and then promptly fell asleep on his desk. Hermione, annoyed, pulled out Quidditch Through the Ages and kept reading, despite internal protests to smack Harry with it for setting her quill to write for her. She did, however, notice Ronald Weasley staring daggers at the trio, however when he caught Hermione's watchful eye, quickly turned away, angered. 'Ron is angry… This could be bad for Harry,' Hermione thought. Right now, she was reading a book and, sigh, still letting her notes write themselves.
Close to the end of class, Hermione nudged Neville and Harry awake. Neville became excited almost immediately, as Herbology was next in line of their classes. Hermione leaned over and whispered something in Harry's ear. His response was him looking angrily in Ron's direction. Fortunately for Ron, he wasn't looking at the threatening glares Harry was currently dishing out.
Herbology went by in a joyful flash, and after dinner was Charms. Professor Flitwick had the class practice a singular wand movement all class while walking around and helping the students. Back in the Common Room, the Trio worked on McGonagall's review, and unfortunately for Hermione, did not finish it like promised. Ron decided it as his job to tell the trio every ten minutes that the review was pointless. Harry glared at Ron every so often, and much to Hermione's pleas and Neville's reasoning, Harry was persuaded to not confront Ron that night in the Dormitory when Astronomy was done. Ron called Harry a friend yet glared at his other friends? Harry was getting fed up with Ron's stupidity.
October 29, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Much to Hermione's protests, Harry attended Quidditch practice that morning. After the practice and breakfast, Neville happily dragged his friends to Herbology. After Herbology was Defense. Oh, if only Defense was as enjoyable as Herbology.
Potions was still bad. Professor Snape lectured on this new potion that helped reduce acne. To everyone's disappointment, he assigned an essay due on Halloween. Suffice to say the Trio did not appreciate this, however didn't complain like Ron did.
Double Transfiguration was enjoyable, and after a practical review, Professor McGonagall reminded the students about the upcoming exam and assigned review packet.
Charms was relaxing. The only thing Professor Flitwick was doing was helping the students with their wand movement. That evening, Hermione hung with Neville and Harry to finish the review packet that to her satisfaction, finally completed it. The trio went to bed with smiles on their faces.
\-0-0-/
October 30, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Wednesday hit Harry like the Hogwarts Express at full speed. He didn't wake with a smile. His parent's death's anniversary was tomorrow. The day Harry supposedly killed off You-Know-Who was tomorrow. Tomorrow was Halloween. Out of all the days in the year that Harry wanted to disappear, tomorrow would be the day.
To start the day off, Gryffindor had Double Potions with the Slytherins. It was made worse by Professor Snape's constant jabs at Harry about tomorrow. As if he couldn't wait to do it tomorrow. Harry just bit his tongue and let Professor Snape roll out pre-Halloween insults to him and his friends.
All afternoon, the students were watching as Hagrid carried pumpkins thrice his size to the school and setting them in the main courtyard outside the Great Hall. Where these pumpkins came from was anybody's guess, however the highest candidate for location was the Forbidden Forest.
They took their Transfiguration exam, and Professor McGonagall was glad that her students were learning the concepts of Transfiguration easily. She frowned upon Ron Weasley's horrible attempt to transfigure a bead into a button, a concept they had been learning all month long. Suffice to say Ron Weasley was in a foul mood the rest of the day. That didn't help Harry's case, however.
Astronomy, surprisingly, was the only class that made Harry relax. Considering he was going to have to deal with tomorrow in stride, he made the most out of the night. Well, until Quidditch practice. Speaking of Quidditch, Quidditch practice remained intense, and apparently Oliver didn't have a "slow down" function anywhere in his brain. Ah, well.
\-0-0-/
October 31, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Halloween started off early enough. With Quidditch practices only for two more days, with the game Saturday, Harry was actually looking forward to school. What the kicker, on this particular day, was that this was the day, back in 1981, when his parents were killed by Voldemort. Harry hated him. He hated Voldemort for killing his parents, for confining his life to ten years of misery and isolation in the small cupboard at Number Four Privet Drive, the oh-so-special residence of the Dursleys.
At least Peter kept him company, even if he was a figment of his imagination. And at least Voldemort was dead. He deserved to die, for killing his parents.
Coming back to the present, Harry realized he had his best friend, Neville, and his friend, Hermione to hang with. He assumed he could call his Quidditch teammates friends, but Harry wasn't so sure. Ronald Weasley is making said term sound like a chore and a burden. The less the better.
Funny, that sentence. Nearly two months ago, the complete opposite statement was made. 'You can never have too many friends!' At that, Harry looked over at his Nimbus 2000. What was so special about his broom that Ron just had to fly it? Other than it was the "best broom on the market," Ron had his brother's brooms. Cleansweep Sixes might not be a fast broom, but it sure was precise and punctuated, Fred and George had shown that off during practice countless times.
Harry entered the Great Hall much later than his team that morning. He was slowly digging his hole of misery with each step he took. He arrived in the Great Hall quite late, but Neville flagged him down almost immediately and put him in a seat while Hermione was muttering explicates (or what it curses, hexes, and jinxes?) while piling eggs and sausages on Harry's plate.
Thankful, Harry smiled softly at Hermione and dug in. His parent's death still loomed at the back of his head, slowly eating his head away. Unfortunately for Harry, his mood appeared to get worse. Not only was it the anniversary of his parent's deaths, but it was also the ten-year anniversary of Harry killing Voldemort (Or as most of the kids said, You-Know-Who). Harry didn't know it at the time, but starting with Defense, he would be congratulated for "Vanquishing the Dark Lord" as The Early Life of Harry Potter so eloquently stated. Unfortunately, his misery came early.
"Potter! Relishing your fame? Isn't killing a Dark Lord enough for you?" Draco Malfoy sneered. "I thought you would be happy, looks like you'll have to get a personal thank-you. Watch yourself, Potter!"
Before Harry could come up with a response, Ron sneered at Malfoy. "Get away from Harry you git. Run along to daddy so you can cry!"
Malfoy angrily sneered back before walking away, the two boys flanking him. Could this day get worse? Unfortunately for Harry, it was. And it was only the tip of the iceberg. Today would be a day he would never forget.
Double Defense was probably one of the worse starts to his day that Harry could imagine. Sure, he finally got his wand movement correctly for the dictation spell, but it was worse because for two hours straight, Professor Quirrell was stuttering his way through asking Harry to demonstrate how he killed the Dark Lord. And this was after Harry angrily growled a firm "No" in response to each time he was asked.
For his friends, Neville and Hermione were very constricted. Neville could only imagine the pain Harry was going through, losing his parents. While he did "lose" his parents, he had the ability to visit them, in his limited capacity. Harry had it much, much worse. Hermione, on the other hand, knew Harry's parents and You-Know-Who died today, ten years prior. While she personally hadn't had the feeling of losing any of her close family, she still deeply understood that Harry would never experience having parents. It made her cringe in pain at the way she had treated him for the first month of school. Nobody, nobody can fake the pain that is not having parents.
Harry snapped first after Defense, and he disappeared in the rush of students heading to the Great Hall for lunch. He expertly maneuvered his way away from Neville and Hermione, hoping to find a small, secluded spot to let himself go. Every time Quirrell mentioned Voldemort, deep down in Harry, he was cursing his parents. There was only so much that Harry could take, and that was coming from the kid who had spent ten years in a cupboard without going crazy. Harry pulled himself together in the nearby bathroom before making his way outside to the Training Grounds for their weekly flying lesson. From the Grounds he saw the Quidditch Pitch.
Oh, how he wished he could hop on his Nimbus and just soar around the grounds without a care in the world! However, Harry didn't trust himself with his Nimbus during class, and especially around the Slytherins. As usual, Hermione only hovered about a foot off the ground on her broom, and Neville was flying very slow. Being in the air, Harry allowed himself to relax. He allowed himself to forget about his life. About Voldemort, this damned anniversary, the Dursleys, and of course, himself. He allowed himself to be flooded with the goodness and happiness flying gave him. All too soon, class ended.
\-0-0-/
By this point, Charms was next. Most of the students looked happy with excitement. Today they would be learning the floating spell! Class started off easy enough. Professor Flitwick went through the basic theory-based information and assigned an eight-inch essay on the studied theory due by the next Monday. After that, the practical portion of class began, and every student was eager to learn the new spell.
"Now, one of a Wizard's most rudimentary skill is Levitation, or the ability to make objects fly! Now, you each have a feather in front of you. Don't forget the wrist movement we have been practicing all week! Swish and Flick! Make it intentional, don't quiver! And speak very clearly. Wingardium Leviosa. Again. Win-gard-ium Lev-i-osa. Good luck!" Professor Flitwick cheered as the class of First Years began trying the spell.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry incantated, but nothing happened. Wasn't Magic based on intent? Why could he not make his feather float? Next to him, Seamus Finnigan, one of his dorm mates, was not having much luck either. Neville was trying to his credit, but nothing was happening. Further down the table, Ron was having minimal success.
"Wingardrium Leviosarrrrrrrr!" Ron incantated, before shaking his wand with such ferocity Hermione stopped him.
"Stop, Ron. You're going to take someone's eye out! You're also not saying it right. It's Win-gard-ium Lev-i-osa. Don't pull out the last syllable." Hermione looked at him as he digested this information with a shocked face. Instead of thanking her, or doing nothing at all, Ron repelled.
"Well then Miss 'I-Know-Everything!' You do it!" Ron glared at her.
Hermione's mouth opened slightly in shock but schooled her features and took a deep breath. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Much to Hermione's delight, Ron's misery, and Harry and Neville's awe, her feather started floating in the air. Professor Flitwick saw this and grinned.
"Congratulations Miss. Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor! See here everyone! Miss. Granger has done the spell!"
Hermione blushed at the praise and cancelled the spell. Next to her, Ron glared at his books and plopped his head on the table. At that exact moment, Seamus' feather caught on fire, burning his eyebrows off, again.
"We might need a bit of help here, Professor," Harry said.
Class continued normally after that, and other than Hermione, a Slytherin girl, Daphne something managed to make her feather float. The scowl in Malfoy's face as that girl grinned at him was priceless. Upon exiting the classroom, Ron stated berating Hermione, out loud, and unaware that she was only about ten feet behind him.
"Harry! Granger's a know-it-all bookworm! She said I was doing the spell wrong, and then she showed off her book skills or whatever and did the spell perfectly! She's a nightmare to be around mate! Why do you even bother with her?" Ron was going to continue his rant, but Hermione slammed into his shoulder and ran off. At this point, for some awkward reason, Harry snapped. He stepped in front of Ron, and even Neville looked a tad frightened at Harry's appearance.
"Listen Weasley, that "'Know-it-all' bookworm" happens to be one of my only friends! A title that I've learned in the past several weeks you aren't worthy of! Stay away from me, Neville, and Hermione unless you have something nice to say! I swear, badmouth her, me or Neville again and so help me Peter I'll ask Hermione how to hex you into next year!" With that, Harry pivoted on the spot and ran in the same direction Hermione went.
"Ron, I wish I could tell you he was over the top, but you blew it. You don't know how many chances Harry gave you. It'll be better for all of us if you just leave us alone." Neville told Ron nervously before running after Harry. Ron fumed in anger in the Trio's wake. But what else was there to do? Unfortunately, Ron's mental capacity didn't expand into that territory, so he was stuck with just riding the wave of rejection for a while.
Harry searched for about fifteen minutes before he was forced to retreat to his next class, History of Magic. While he hated leaving Hermione alone after that spurt with Ron, he didn't fancy himself a detention or expulsion for missing class, no matter how dire the reasoning may be. He arrived at his History of Magic class with about twenty seconds to spare. Neville looked at Harry and gestured to the open seat next to him. Harry quickly occupied it. Sitting in the back, the pair kept to themselves. At least Weasley had the decency to look ashamed, if anything.
"Don't wait for me at dinner Neville, I'm going to find her." Harry whispered.
"No, Harry, come to dinner. Hermione will show for Potions. She has to, lest Snape get on her hide over it."
"Neville, she isn't here-"
"We mainly sleep here, to be fair, Harry," Neville reminded him.
Harry nodded. Fine. Potions. That's where she would be tonight. "Remind me to bring her a bit of food for later on." Neville simply nodded.
Neither boy noticed that Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were not in attendance.
\-0-0-/
After what felt like hours, Harry and Neville slowly made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. On top of the fact that Hermione was still missing, "She will turn up in Potions, Harry," Neville had reminded him, Harry was starting into the Great Hall, filled with those massive pumpkins and happy chatter. The fact that it, again, was the ten-year anniversary of You-Know-Who's death did not settle with Harry, as it was, again, the ten-year anniversary of the death of his parents. Sitting down at the Gryffindor Table, he saw Lavender and Parvati sitting nearby, feeling dejected. It was about halfway through the feast when Neville whispered something in Harry's ear.
"I've been told by Parvati Patil that Katie Bell heard Hermione crying in the Girls' Bathroom on the first floor."
Harry nodded. At least she wasn't outside or doing something stupid due to Weasley's stupid actions. At least she was safe. Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall slammed open and Professor Quirrell came running in, out of breath.
"Troll in the Dungeons! Troll in the Dungeons! I thought you ought to know." The man then passed out due to exhaustion. What followed in the next ten seconds was pure chaos. Pandemonium flooded the House Tables, and students were trying to run out of the Hall to get as far away from the troll as possible. It was at this point Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and put his wand to his throat. A very loud a sudden "SILENCE!" boomed from his voice, and every student stopped yelling and moving to turn to the Headmaster.
"If you would all please, remain calm, and do not panic!" Headmaster Dumbledore's voice quieted until it was back to his regular voice. "Prefects will lead their Houses to their Dormitories, the Professors and myself will go to the Dungeons to deal with the Troll. As it is following the same path as Slytherin House, Slytherin House will follow us until they arrive at their Common Room. Thank you." At that the students turned to their House Prefects and the teachers stood up. Professor Snape hurried out of the Great Hall, worry etched on his face. Harry and Neville lagged behind, for the simple fact that the first years sat closest to the Head's table.
\-0-0-/
They got to the Grand Staircase before Harry suddenly sharply turned to Neville, stopping him in his tracks.
"Hermione! She doesn't know! We have to get her!" Harry exclaimed.
"In the Girl's Bathroom?" Neville asked quietly.
"I mean, yeah. Come on!" Harry started running towards the occupied bathroom, with Neville on his heels. They got to the other side of the hall, but both boys stopped in fright. Because not fifty feet away, a humongous green troll was trudging towards the bathrooms. 'Peter, kill me now!' Harry thought as both boys heard a loud, high pitched scream that logic could only dictate belong to Hermione Granger. "Peter, please forgive me," Harry muttered as he took off running as fast as possible to the now occupied bathroom. Both boys entered the bathroom just as the troll took a wide swing at the stalls, covering Hermione with its remains. Both boy's faces turned white at the scene.
"HERMIONE, RUN!" Harry shouted after recovering a second later. Hermione obeyed instantly. If she were to die now, she would be happy that she was with her friends, even in their capacity. For a split second, she did think she was going to die, except when she saw Harry literally catapult himself onto the troll's head, making the troll's club that was originally aimed at her head miss by a few inches, creating a crater in the floor. Neville was tossing rubble and broken bits of wood at the troll to try to divert it from Hermione. With an almighty heave, the troll managed to get Harry by his ankle, upside down. Harry avoided the club by doing a scuffed sit-up.
"NEVILLE! DO-" Dodge. "SOMETHING!" Another Dodge. "ANYTHING!" Another Dodge. Neville tried casting spells, but nothing was coming out of his wand. And that was even with him doing the correct wrist movements.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Neville cried out, but nothing happened. Harry was at his twelfth consecutive sit-up, and his torso was beginning to tire. Would he really die this way? After escaping the Dursleys? Heh. Not a bad way to die too. Getting your head smashed off by a troll's club isn't the slowest death. He looked over at Hermione, who was unable to move due to shock. Neville, whom he couldn't see, was still furiously trying to cast the levitation charm on that blasted club! If Neville could disarm the Troll, he could maybe work a little magic and save Hermione?
Precious seconds ticked by, and Harry was on his twenty-first scuffed sit up. He had no energy left. After dodging the swing by the troll, Harry gave up. He would die trying to save his friend. In a way, it was satisfying. Dying for a good reason. Maybe he could see his parents. Maybe he could be happy about life. As the club whirled towards his head, he closed his eyes in defeat, totally exhausted. He heard Hermione's piercing scream.
Hermione was still rooted to that same spot under the sinks and Harry had done at least fifteen dodges. But he very nearly fainted after the last one. And the club started swinging. Faster and faster, it barreled towards Harry's head, his body looking fully spent, and him closing his eyes, seemingly accepting defeat. She screamed.
Neville was screaming, internally, at his wand. He was in full panic mode. Both of his best friends were in danger, and he had been trying to lift that damn club away from the troll before Harry or Hermione got whacked by it! The last thing he remembered before he fell backwards was Hermione screaming.
Hermione looked in absolute shock at the scene in front of her. Lying on the ground was her best friend, Neville Longbottom. Closer to her, Harry was also on the ground. But what was the most shocking thing there was the fact that the troll was out cold on the floor next to the boys, its' club resting in a new hole in the wall. After what seemed like an eternity, Harry's head shook. He opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He turned his head, saw that Hermione was okay, smiled, and closed his eyes again, sighing in relief. Hermione very slowly moved herself from under the sink to Harry's body. With a tearful "Thank you, Harry!" she clasped her hand in his, and looked over to her friend, who was slowly sitting up against the wall, pained at the sight of Harry. "Thank you, Neville! You both saved me!"
When the trio was found by Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Quirrell about two minutes later, Neville was against the wall, Hermione was resting her hand on Harry's while crying, and Harry appeared to be asleep. The fallen troll was behind them, and its club was wedged into a hole in the wall. Professor McGonagall was at such a shock of words that she nearly fainted at the sight. Fortunately, Professor Sprout spotted this and helped her friend stand upright.
"What happened here?" Professor McGonagall managed to get out.
Hermione slowly lifted her head, her face pale and her eyes red. Her eyes travelled from Harry to the troll and finally to the lodged club. The girl didn't trust herself to speak.
Pomona ran full speed towards the Hospital Wing. She tagged Madam Pomfrey, the school's nurse and got her to the Girl's Bathroom, where the Matron's eyes immediately went wide. Three First-Years, a mountain troll, and a destroyed bathroom. Students first was always her main priority.
Hermione managed to shake Harry awake, and he moved very slowly. His vision centered him on Professor Snape, whose robes were cut and his leg appeared to be bleeding. He then turned his attention to Madam Pomfrey.
"She's safe, and I didn't die." Harry chuckled before sighing. Madam Pomfrey conjured three stretchers and carefully levitated the three students on them, before sending them to the Hospital Wing. The teachers followed solemnly.
Several hours later, and well past midnight, the three kids awoke, if not painfully. Professors McGonagall and Sprout were sitting near them. Madam Pomfrey smiled at the three students.
"I healed all of your minor injuries from that fight. Mr. Longbottom, you had a severe side effect of accidental wandless magic. Mr. Potter, you are simply physically exhausted. And Miss. Granger, you sustained several cuts in your back from splinters. I have also treated you for minor shock. Should you drink this potion and the results come back effective, you three may return to classes come morning. And, before you ask Mr. Potter, if you exercise caution today and come in for a checkup after the Evening Feast and tomorrow morning and I deem you well, you may play Quidditch. Otherwise, nothing on a broom until then. Understood?" She was satisfied when she got three tired head nods. After administering a healing potion of sorts, all three kids fell into a deep slumber.
\-0-0-/
Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Minnie, Pomona, you two should get some sleep. There are, after all, classes tomorrow." Minerva nodded slowly and Pomona assisted her friend to her quarters to sleep.
November 1, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry woke up in the Hospital wing with a massive headache. He looked over at Neville, and he was still asleep. On his other side, Hemione was laying on her side, bandages covering her back. It didn't take long for Madam Pomfrey to enter the Wing, the trio were her only patients right now!
"Ah, Mr. Potter. I see you're awake. I must ask you: Exactly what happened in that bathroom last night?"
Harry slowly explained what had happened to the Matron, and with each sentence she was getting closer and closer to simply calling Minerva up there to get the statement herself. After Harry had explained that he thought he would die saving Hermione, Madam Pomfrey excused herself and ran through the school to get to Minerva, who quickly returned to the Wing to see Harry looking sadly at Hermione. He was taking to himself, out loud, and hadn't noticed either woman enter.
"-and you'll get better. Once you do, we'll all be friends. Then I won't be a git." Harry finished before quickly looking towards the two women, shock written on his face. He put his head down and muttered an apology before Professor McGonagall conjured a chair and sat down in the space between Harry and Hermione's beds. Madam Pomfrey took this time to examine Neville.
"Mr. Potter, last night, when the troll got into the school, I want you to tell me exactly what happened." She looked as Harry's face turned into a sad frown.
"Ron badly teased Hermione after Charms, and she ran off after hearing the insults. Me and Neville tried finding her, but we had History of Magic. I was going to skip the Feast, but Neville convinced me to wait for her at Potions, as none of us needed to get on Professor Snape's bad side. During the Feast I learned Hermione was in the first floor Girls' Bathroom. Then…" Harry stopped, closing his eyes, "That blasted troll got into the school and I realized she didn't know. Me and Neville ran to the bathroom and heard her screaming. I jumped on the troll, distracted it, and nearly died to its club. I thought I was going to die, Professor, saving her. You can say that advice you gave me a while back paid off, so thank you for that." Harry smiled weakly at the Transfiguration Professor.
Madam Pomfrey finished her checks on Neville. "He'll be out for at least another four hours. She'll awake within a few hours too. As for you Mr. Potter, I suggest you try to sleep some more. There is about an hour and a half until your first class, should I deem you well enough to attend. That is all." She walked out and Professor McGonagall stood up.
"Get better, Mr. Potter." She said before excusing herself from the infirmary.
The day went by painfully slowly. Harry awoke again around nine but was not cleared by Madam Pomfrey to go to class, much to his disappointment. Harry was stuck waiting for his friends to wake up. Finally, in the middle of the afternoon, Hermione woke up, painfully yelping as she turned over. At this, Neville stirred, clearly because of the loud yelp. Madam Pomfrey quickly tended to Hermione's pain by handing her a potion in which her pain vanished quickly. Hermione sat up slowly and looked at Harry and Neville, the former who was looking at her. Neville groaned and sat up.
"Hey, guys. Harry, I'm so glad you're fine. You too, Hermione!"
Both recipients smiled. "You too, Neville," Harry responded. Hermione nodded. She then looked at Harry with a soft gaze.
"Hey, Harry. I," her voice stopped working and she frowned. "I'm sorry for almost getting you killed. I was foolish to skip class after Ron's insult."
Harry shook his head in protest. "It wasn't your fault. Weasley was a git. Me and Neville dressed him down after you ran away."
Neville cut in. "You should've seen what Harry said to him, Hermione! It was wicked!" Harry blushed in embarrassment.
"It's what friends are for, right?" Harry reasoned. Hermione's eyes widened, but then broke into a small smile. Her smile of acceptance was all Harry needed to smile on his own.
"It's what best friends are for, Harry," Hermione clarified. Harry's small chuckle made Hermione smile in pride. "Both of you, thanks. I probably would be dead had neither of you shown up." She frowned but shrugged it off. "Anyways, what time is it?"
"Three thirty, Miss. Granger," Madam Pomfrey declared, walking in. "Now relax. All of you. Miss. Granger, the cuts will heal by morning if you put this cream on the skin. If I apply it to you, you will have to lay on your stomach for at least eight hours for it to fully heal." At Hermione's nod, Madam Pomfrey conjured up a privacy screen and went to work applying the healing cream to her back.
Harry and Neville started talking. "So, Harry, you ready for the match tomorrow?" Neville asked.
"If I'm allowed to leave, Madam Pomfrey didn't let me go to classes today." Harry stated. At Neville's downcast look, Harry countered. "She might let me go tomorrow. After all, it was simple physical exhaustion as she told me."
"Right," Neville replied.
That evening, and after an uncomfortable afternoon where Hermione was feeling stings all through her back, the kids were cleared to go to the Great Hall to get some food to eat.
"You three get a good night sleep and I'll clear you tomorrow. Mr. Longbottom, no magic for a week. While your health might be fine, your core is not. Whatever happened in that bathroom last night took a major chunk of your magical energy. So, no magic until I clear you, understood?" Receiving a terrified nod, she smiled in approval and went back to her office. Suffice to say all three kids got a lot of sleep that night.
\-0-0-/
November 2, 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
While the Trio healed in the Hospital Wing, the talk of Hogwarts was a healthy split between the troll attack and the upcoming Quidditch match. For Oliver Wood, he could be seen pacing up and down the Common Room, muttering to himself. Ron sat in a corner and looked horrified at himself.
In the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey cleared the three students and they Trio headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. When they entered, most of the student body had one eye on them. The Trio sat down, and Hermione began unceremoniously filling Harry's plate with food.
"If you're playing Quidditch in three hours, you're going to eat to have energy!" she exclaimed. Neville chuckled at his friend. Harry looked at Hermione with understanding.
"How's your back?" He asked her.
"Fine," Hermione replied, however she looked down, sad. "It hurts a bit, but Madam Pomfrey said it would. I'll be fine for the match today." She smiled at the boys.
"Good luck today, Potter. However, seeing as your heroics stopped a troll, Quidditch should be easy for the Boy-Who-Lived." Snape sneered, before limping away.
"Well that was relaxing," Neville said sarcastically. However, Harry was focused on Snape's limp.
"Hermione, remember that day we saw the dog?" He asked. Hermione looked at Neville, but he just shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes Harry, I do. Why?"
"I think it has something to do with Professor Snape. He has a limp, and the other night I saw blood on his pant leg."
Neville leaned over. "So, what does that mean?"
Harry sighed. "Snape tried to get past that dog for some reason. Now we've been going through books and such for a while but still haven't found out what it was. What we do know is that thing I saw at Gringotts on my birthday is in Dumbledore's possession. We also know that there was an attempt to steal it."
Neville was listening but Hermione pieced it together. "Harry, you don't think that Professor Snape-"
"That's exactly what I'm thinking, Hermione! I mean, you saw that thing! It might be with Dumbledore, but how fast will Professor Snape be able to get to it and steal it for himself?" Harry exclaimed.
He slumped in his seat. After breakfast ended, he made his way to the Quidditch Pitch with his Nimbus 2000 draped over his shoulder. While the game wasn't for another two hours, Harry had a lot on his mind. Trying to figure out this mystery was going to be harder than he thought.
\-0-0-/
Hedwig and Crookshanks were currently making their way to the Pitch, Crooks wanted to get to his perch before the humans arrived. Hedwig accompanied the cat as both would be watching the game today. All over the school, the pair had heard about the students gushing either about that troll that got in the castle the other night or the Quidditch game coming up.
The pair arrived at the Pitch, and Crookshanks started climbing the many stairs that would lead him to his perch. Hedwig would be next to him, and they would have an amazing full view of the game. Crookshanks seated himself in the little nook in the roof and Hedwig situated herself next to the cat. About an hour later, the blob of students started congregating at the Pitch. Both familiars settled in for the first Quidditch game of the season: Gryffindor versus Slytherin!
Hermione and Neville had found seats in the front of the Gryffindor section of stands. As Eleven A.M neared, the kids were growing louder and louder. In the changing room, the Gryffindor Team was getting some last-minute advice from Oliver.
"Relax and have fun! We practiced hard for this! We're going to crush them today!" At that the team cheered happily. Outside, and far above them, the commentator began their introductions.
"Welcome Hogwarts, to the first Quidditch match of the year! Slytherin versus Gryffindor! On Slytherin, as they fly out, are as follows!"
By this point, the Slytherin contingent of fans screamed out as each member of their team flew onto the pitch.
The Gryffindor team prepared to fly out. "Wood, what happened on your first game?" Harry suddenly asked.
Oliver turned to him. "Don't really remember. I got hit in the head with a bludger ten minutes into the game. Woke up a day later. Worst headache of my life."
Harry's eyes turned to saucers before he recomposed himself.
"Now, we have Gryffindor!" the commentator continued, calling out each player, until he reached Harry's name.
"And please welcome the Youngest Seeker in a Century, the one, the Legendary Boy-Who-Lived, HARRY POTTER!" He boomed.
Harry, who had been preparing for this, took to the skies as a majority of the student body cheered for him.
"Look at the Nimbus 2000! It's the best broom in the world! And-"
"LEE JORDAN YOU ARE MEANT TO COMMENTATE QUIDDITCH!" Professor McGonagall's voice was heard clear as day.
"Sorry Professor! Anyways Madam Hooch is on the field! The Bludgers are released! Now the Golden Snitch! Remember, the Golden Snitch is worth one hundred and fifty points! The seeker who catches the Snitch end the game! The Quaffle is thrown up, and the game begins!"
In one second, six quidditch players went in a mad rush to catch the Quaffle and four others were starting to whack bludgers at the opposing team. Harry flew up high above the Pitch to find the Snitch.
"Angelina Johnson scores! Ten to Zero, Gryffindor!" Lee shouted. The stands went wild and Harry whooped in joy.
"Great save by Wood!" Lee exclaimed. The game continued, with Fred and George flying past Harry wishing him luck before beating bludgers at the Slytherins. As expected, the Slytherins were trying to cheat their way to victory, and unfortunately for Gryffindor, they were succeeding. Two Slytherin chasers pinned Angelina between them and forced her off her broom before it slammed into the stands.
Harry looked angrily at the Slytherin chasers, but they didn't see it.
From their Perch, Crookshanks and Hedwig saw their respective familiars easily. As it turned out, they weren't the only animals to venture to the Pitch. Several other owls flew over from the owlery to watch the game. Hedwig was looking at her owl friends as Lee's voice rang out across the stadium.
"Amazing goal by Katie Bell! Twenty to Zero, Gryffindor!"
Crookshanks purred at Hedwig, and Hedwig in return hooted in happiness.
The stadium erupted in cheers when Katie scored for a second time.
"Ten points to Gryffindor! They lead Thirty to Zero!" Lee reported, grinning happily in the process.
The game progressed like this for a few minutes, but with Slytherin in possession with the Quaffle, Oliver was in overtime defending the hoops. He blocked four shots by Slytherin and smirked at the Slytherin's captain.
Angry with Oliver's skills, Marcus Flint ordered one of his beaters to take him out. As Oliver looked away to stop the incoming Quaffle from his left, one of the bludgers was whacked towards him at high speed from his right.
"Oliver, look out!" Harry screamed, but Oliver was too slow to react and the bludger hit him in the side, knocking him off track and allowing the Quaffle to score.
"Ten Points to Slytherin! Gryffindor still leads Thirty to Ten!" Lee reported. It was at this moment that Harry spotted a glimmer of gold hovering on the other side of the Pitch. Harry shot off. In the stands, Hermione clung onto Neville's arm for support as she looked in part shock and awe at the raw speed Harry pushed out his broom.
"POTTER'S SEEN THE SNITCH! POTTER'S SEEN THE SNITCH! WOW! LOOK AT THAT SPEED!" Lee shouted, despite Professor McGonagall's protests. Harry didn't focus on Lee, however, he focused on the gold ball getting closer and closer. It was right there! He reached out to grab it when his broom suddenly stopped midair and nearly threw him off as he only had one hand on it.
From the stands, Hermione let out a tiny smile as Harry became ultra-focused on the Snitch. That smile turned to shock when his broom jolted to a stop and Harry's sheer reaction time prevented him from falling off. Next to her, Neville was looking at Harry through a set of Hagrid's old binoculars while his left arm was being squeezed to death by a now terrified Hermione.
"Let me see!" Hermione shrieked and pulled the binoculars from Neville's face. Harry could be seen visibly paling as his broom was starting to violently rock and swing around, with Harry hanging on for dear life. Hermione looked towards the teacher's box to see if anyone was trying to help him, and saw Professor Snape staring at Harry, visibly saying something under his breath.
"Ohmygod!" Hermione shrieked again, this time in Neville's ear. "Sorry Neville, but Snape's jinxing Harry's broom! He's trying to kill him!"
"Jinxing the broom? Killing him? What are we going to do?!" Neville panicked.
Hermione whipped her wand from her pocket. "Leave it to me, I'll handle it." She bolted away towards the teacher's box, as Neville started screaming to Harry to hold on.
Meanwhile, with Oliver out of action, the Slytherins scored goal after goal. When Hermione bolted away to "handle it," The score was tied at Thirty to Thirty. Time passed as Hermione sprinted halfway across the stands in a desperate attempt to get to the teacher's box. She heard the sound that a goal was made and Lee's miserable voice of "Slytherin scores!" as she finally made it to the tower the teachers were in. She had to stop momentarily because the pain in her back flared, however it subsided, and she could continue. Hermione climbed the many stairs to the top of the box, as the Slytherins continued to score, and Harry held onto his broom for his life.
Harry was starting to feel the effects of G-Force and his stomach was starting to scream at him. Of all days, why did today be the day he listened to Hermione and ate twice the amount of food in the morning? He felt his stomach was going to dump itself over the Pitch. However, a very heavy lurch from his broom caught him off guard and now he was hanging by his hands as his broom continually tried to get him off. The Slytherins, particularly Draco Malfoy, was rooting for the broom to drop Potter. Neville was screaming himself hoarse at Harry to hold on for a little longer.
Out of breath, Hermione finally reached the top of the Teacher's Box. Crawling under the seats, she peered out and saw that Harry had just lost one hand on his rapidly shaking broom. She saw the look of pure terror on his face, similar to that night he attacked the troll to save her. Finding Professor Snape's robes, Hermione took in a deep breath before incantating "Lacarnum Inflamare" and quickly fleeing. She saw the flames grow larger on his robes before one of the other teachers started yelling at him about it. Said teacher shoved Professor Snape and a good portion of the teachers in that booth fell out of their seats, given the creaking heard from right where Hermione was climbing out of. From the deafening cheers coming from the Gryffindor section, she knew that it worked. Snape wasn't controlling Harry's broom and Harry had made it safely back on.
When Harry realized his broom had stopped fighting him, he remounted it and took off, his eyes darting to find the Snitch. Unfortunately for Gryffindor, Slytherin was up Seventy to Thirty. At that moment, Harry again spotted the glimmer of flying gold and shot after it.
"POTTER HAS SEEN THE SNITCH AGAIN! POTTER IS AFTER THE SNITCH!" Lee cheered happily as Harry soared after it.
The Slytherin Seeker had other ideas, however. He decided to try to ram into Harry, but as Harry spotted him, he flew down at the last minute, both eyes on the Snitch, and making the Slytherin Seeker look like a fool as he uncontrollably flew right past him, very nearly colliding into his own houses' section. The third year wasn't deterred, however. He quickly caught back up to Harry. Both boys raced for the Snitch, as it came closer and closer to them.
Following the Snitch became an issue for both Seekers. The Snitch knew where they weren't going and went in that direction. Until it went straight down. Both Seekers followed it, and after the Slytherin Seeker chickened out, Harry pulled up mere meters from the ground and held his hand out, willing his broom to go ever so slightly faster. Within grasping distance, Harry launched himself at the Snitch and did a barrel roll while his broom decelerated and stopped. Harry stood up and rubbed his head and his stomach, both spots in pain. He then started choking.
Hermione finally made it back down from the Box, her back pain not helping her, and she just about saw Harry starting to choke. Hagrid looked through his binoculars and exclaimed. "It looks like 'Arry's gonna be sick!"
Harry coughed up whatever was lodged in his throat, and to his and everyone else's shock, was the Golden Snitch! His fellow teammates cheered him on as Madam Hooch ended the game.
"Gryffindor wins! One hundred and eighty to Seventy!" Madam Hooch announced. Lee shouted congratulations through the commentators box, and Professor McGonagall could be seen happily cheering along with them. The team crowded around Harry as the Gryffindor students chanted "Go Go, Gryffindor!" over and over again. Harry grinned and put the Snitch over his head and cheered with his team.
Hedwig and Crookshanks were hooting and purring in happiness, as did most of the other owls present who were rooting for Gryffindor.
Madam Pomfrey entered the Pitch and looked stern at Harry. "Mr. Potter! You are going to the Hospital Wing right now! Move it!"
Harry smiled and let Katie take his broom back to the Tower. He walked over to Oliver, who was on a stretcher, who smiled at him. "Great game, Potter!"
Harry smiled back. "Thanks, Wood. Try not to get unseated next match, right?"
Both boys shared a laugh as the group made their way back up to the castle, and for the Quidditch team, the Hospital Wing.
In the stands, Hermione reached Neville again and both smiled. Hagrid came up behind them. "Why don't yer both make sure 'Arrys okay and come down to me hut tomorrow eh?"
"Sure Hagrid, we can go down after breakfast! We'll join you!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Brilliant 'Ermione! Whelp, see you both 'round. Neville, 'Ermione." Hagrid smiled at the kids before walking out of the stands. Neville and Hermione looked at each other before both took off in the direction of the Hospital Wing.
Several hours later, in the Hospital Wing, Neville, Hermione, the Twins, Alicia, and Katie were watching over Oliver, Angelina, and Harry. Specifically, the Twins were next to Angelina's bed, Katie and Alicia were next to Oliver's bed, and Neville and Hermione were next to Harry's bed. Funny enough, Harry occupied the same bed he occupied the day before.
"All three of us are going down to Hagrid's tomorrow, mate." Neville smiled as Harry chuckled a bit.
"So, exactly what happened between me fighting for my broom and it not trying to kill me?" At this Hermione squirmed in her seat and looked down.
Neville smirked. "Go on Hermione, tell him what you did, it was quite amusing."
Hermione raised her head. "Shut up, Neville." Turning to Harry, she continued. "I might have set Professor Snape's robes on fire to stop him from jinxing your broom."
"You set his robes on fire?" Harry asked in disbelief. With a nod of confirmation, Harry smiled. "Brilliant!"
The trio sat together while Neville and Hermione relayed the game from their perspectives (Hermione's POV was much more interesting). Katie seemed to be hugging Oliver's arm as the pair chatted and Alicia watched on with a smile. The Twins were playfully teasing Angelina until Madam Pomfrey came in and pushed everyone out, citing the need for patients rest. The group returned to the Common Room, and Katie handed Neville Harry's broom to put away in the dorm.
That evening, Harry joined Hermione and Neville in the Great Hall for the feast. After returning to the Common Room, the trio talked about what had occurred that day.
"Other than the fact that Professor Snape tried killing you Harry, did you like the game?" Neville asked.
Harry grinned slightly. "Yeah. But what I'm wondering is why Snape tried to kill me?"
"Harry, Neville just told you to focus on something other than-" Hermione cut in, but was interrupted by Harry, who's face looked angry.
"He must know! He must know we suspect him!" Harry exclaimed. When he got questioning looks from Neville and Hermione, Harry continued.
"He knows that we know about the attempted theft, that was in The Daily Prophet. He also knows about the dog! That's the only logical way he could've gotten that limp! You remember the size of that thing, right Hermione?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "Harry, there's no way we can prove this."
"We could ask Hagrid tomorrow?" Neville suggested. "Maybe Hagrid will tell us something."
"Why would Hagrid know?" Hermione asked, "If it's Professor Snape we're trying to get info on, why would we bring it up?"
"Because he knows you think that Snape had jinxed his broom, Hermione. You did somewhat scream it." Neville told her.
Hermione looked pensive for a moment. She looked at her friends and smiled. "Hagrid's tomorrow it is then."
Author's Note: I spent two hours reading the fic over, and I spotted so many inconsistencies that as an author, I'm disappointed in myself. The scene with Crookshanks was a first step solution I had to get him back in the story (since I introduced him in Chapter One and then promptly forgot about him). There are also several smaller details I left out in favor of character development; however, I'm still working on finding that middle ground between character development and attention to detail. As a writer, I am my worst critic. Thanks for reading and enjoy your day!
BananaCarrot-Five