I don't own Harry Potter, only the OC
Hello guys, Badger here. I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter. If you were disappointed with how short the last couple of chapters were, then you are in luck, as I have a nice long chapter for you today. In fact, I think this is the longest chapter so far. That is all for now, please enjoy the new chapter.
Chapter 7
Hagrid and the troll
Harry and James walked towards Hagrid's hut down at the grounds of Hogwarts. The kind Half giant had sent a note to Harry, congratulating him for making the Slytherin Quidditch Team and asked if he wanted to come round to catch up and have some tea or cake. He immediatley accepted, as Harry hadn't been able to see or talk to Hagrid, since he left him on the platform. He also asked James if he wanted to come round too, who accepted, wanting to meet the Half giant personally. In all honesty, Harry was a little nervous about seeing Hagrid again. He still remembered what he said about Slytherin and hoped Hagrid wasn't mad at him. He swallowed slightly, as James knocked on Hagrid's door. There was a small moment of silence, until the door opened.
"Harry!" Hagrid said, cheerfully "Glad you could make it! You have brought James too I see! Well come on in, don't just stand there!"
Harry let out a small sigh of relief. Hagrid didn't seem mad. He hoped it will stay this way. He and James entered the hut, which Harry found to be cosy. True, it may be a bit cramped in some places, due to all the stuff Hagrid had lying around, but it was cosy.
"Look, Harry" Hagrid said, looking ashamed "I…I want to apologise"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, with James raising an eyebrow
"What I said about Slytherin" Hagrid replied "About them being evil…I want to apologise…I told you that everyone who went to Slytherin are evil, but…that was wrong for me to say…being a Slytherin doesn't make you evil…I hope you can forgive me"
"Of course I can forgive you Hagrid" Harry smiled
Hagrid smiled back, but it turned back to shame, as he looked at James.
"I wish to apologise to you too James" He said "I told Harry all Slytherins were evil, but…I forgot about your family…particularly your father, one of the kindest people I knew…your family always fought for the light and many were Slytherins themselves…can you forgive me too?"
"Of course" James smiled "You don't need to apologise, people forget about people like my family, when it comes to a houses reputation…it's not your fault, for what you said"
Hagrid smiled once more, before he asked them if any of them wanted one of his rock cakes. Harry accepted, whilst James politely declined. Harry wished he did too. The rock cakes were a bit too hard, which resulted in him giving up, as he wanted to keep his teeth. Hagrid didn't even look upset about it. He looked amused, and so did James. He couldn't help but glare at them, before he found himself smiling too. They then turned to more pleasant conversations, with Hagrid asking them questions about how Harry was finding Hogwarts so far and what kinds of things he and James wanted to do in the future. What surprised Harry, was that James had a rough idea about what he wanted to do. Whilst he may not know what to do, just yet, Harry still had time. The three continued to speak and enjoy each other's company, until they had to leave, as their next lesson would be starting in fifteen minutes.
They were just about to leave, when Hagrid asked if he could just speak to James for a moment. Harry looked to James, unsure.
"Wait for me outside" James nodded "I shouldn't be too long"
Harry nodded, before he left the small hut. James sighed a little, as the door closed.
"Does he know?" Hagrid asked
"No, he doesn't know" James replied "I guess that's what you wanted to speak to me about?"
"Of course" Hagrid replied "So, when do you plan on telling him?"
"I…I don't know" James sighed, again "It's not exactly something I can just blurt out to him, you know? I'll have to wait for the right moment…I just don't know when that would be…maybe soon? Maybe later? I just don't know"
"Well, whenever it is, I'm sure he will be happy" Hagrid said
"I can only hope" James replied "Thank you for introducing him to the wizarding world Hagrid…See you around"
"You are welcome…have a good day, James"
James waved goodbye, before he left the hut, leaving Hagrid alone. The Half giant sighed softly. He did hope he would tell Harry sometime soon. Though, he had a feeling that it wouldn't happen for a while.
…
Harry found himself sat next to James, as they waited for their next lesson to start. They were in Charms class and everyone had a feather in front of them. They waited, for Flitwick, the tiny and loveable Charms professor to stand up on a massive stack of books, taking his wand out.
"Hello class" He said, in a squeaky voice "today you will be learning one of the more simpler spells, Wingardium Leviosa, an easy spell to make things float…now in order to get this spell to work, you need to do the correct wand movement, now repeat after me…swish and flick"
"Swish and flick" The class repeated
"Very good" Flitwick smiled "Now, I will like to see you all practicing the spell, points will be rewarded to those who do so, but don't be discouraged if you can't get it to work, even simple spells can be a struggle to get right, and remember…swish and flick!"
In unison, the class began practicing the spell, each varying in success, or in this case unsuccess. Some of the class were only able to get their feather to lift a couple of centimetres before it fell back down again, whereas most of the class couldn't get their feather to lift at all. However, after a few minutes, everyone looked to see a feather floating straight up to the ceiling. Everyone's gaze went down to see that the feather belonged to James, who didn't even looked bothered in the slightest. Hermione did not look happy about it at all.
"Oh well done!" Mr Flitwick exclaimed, enthusiastically "You see everyone! Take 15 points for Slytherin, Mr Badger!"
"Thank you sir" James smiled, before he turned to Harry "Need my help with this as well?"
"If you think you can" Harry shrugged "I can't seem to lift my feather up more then a couple of centimetres"
"I'm sure I can" James smiled, before he looked at what Harry was doing "When you do the spell, use your wrist, not your whole arm…and make sure you put emphasis on the 'O' in 'Leviosa'"
Harry nodded, as he did everything that James instructed. This time, his feather floated into the air, going almost as high as James' did.
"Brilliant Mr Potter, take 15 points for Slytherin as well" Flitwick spoke up, before he noticed another feather floating in the air, this time from Gryffindors side "Oh and well done to you Miss Granger, take 15 points for Gryffindor!"
Hermione smiled, but she was disappointed. Whilst she was glad that she was the first Gryffindor to lift her feather, she would have been even gladder to be the first one in the whole class to do it, that way she could prove to James that he was not better than her.
…
James and Harry walked onto the grounds of Hogwarts, after class ended, only to be stopped by Hermione, along the way.
"I can't believe you lifted your feather first" She said
"Oh, you again" James sighed "What do I owe the pleasure?"
"You were able to lift your feather before me" Hermione replied "How?"
"I see that our previous conversation didn't stick in your head" James said, pinching the bridge of his nose
Harry knew that look. He may of only known James for little over a month, but he knew him well enough to know that his patience was wearing thin and unsurprisingly, this girl seemed to be the reason for that.
"Tell me how you did it!" Hermione demanded
"Hermione, give it a rest" Harry spoke up "James already told you back in our first Transfiguration class about why he can do everything before you can…so just stop bothering him, his patience with you seems to be wearing thin enough as it is!"
James looked at Harry, surprised and impressed, before he turned back to Hermione.
"He has spoken Hermione" He said "I suggest that you do leave us, my patience can only be tested so far, and your very presence right now is cracking the ice"
"You are so rude!" Hermione growled at him, before she stormed away
James let out a small sigh, as she left, before he looked to Harry.
"Thanks Harry" He smiled "I must say you impressed me there"
"I've just had enough of her by this point" Harry said "I've seen her glare at you in classes, whenever you do a spell or something else that impresses the professors…I don't think she'll ever change though"
"If my first talk with her did nothing, I don't think anything will" James replied, as they continued walking.
Along the way, they passed Ron, who was talking to Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, about Hermione too.
"That girl is a nightmare, honestly, no wonder she hasn't got any friends!"
"For once in my life, I agree with the carrot topped git" James whispered to Harry, which caused him to laugh
…
That night, the two of them sat with the rest of their house for the Halloween feast. Harry wasn't entirely sure if he felt like celebrating seeing as this was the day his parents were murdered by Voldemort. James was there to cheer him up though and convinced him to go, even if it was for just a small bite to eat. Now he was glad that James did so, because he was feeling a lot better then he was earlier. If the Dursleys were convicted and imprisoned, maybe he could ask James if they could find their graves, so he could visit them. Whilst the two sat and ate some of the large variety of food and sweets laid in front of them, and ignoring the glares from Hermione across the Great Hall, Daphne appeared and sat next to them.
"Well hello Daphne" James said "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
I'd thought I'd come and sit with you guys" Daphne replied "Otherwise I'd have to listen to Malfoy boasting about his father negotiating a marriage contract between me and him"
"Really?" James asked
"Yep" Daphne nodded "My father won't agree, of course, but that doesn't mean the Malfoys will give up so easily"
"Indeed" James chuckled slightly
"And how are you Harry?" Daphne asked "Unlike others, I haven't forgotten what this day must mean for you"
"I'm okay" Harry smiled softly "James has helped cheer me up"
Daphne smiled back at him, before the three of them went back to eating. After a few more minutes, everyone jumped in their seat, when Peeves the Poltergeist burst into the Great Hall, with dozens of balloons.
"Surprise balloon attack!" He yelled cheerfully
All the balloons went flying all across the Great Hall, launching to the ground. Upon impact, the balloons exploded, where different coloured paint went everywhere. People screamed in shock, whereas Peeves laughed manically before he quickly flew back through the doors. James and Harry looked back up from where they ducked beneath the table. Thankfully, they only got a few small spots of paint on their robes. Daphne was not so lucky. Her entire robes were covered in pink paint, with parts of her hair also being covered.
"I can't believe that dead git!" She growled "I'm going to the bathroom"
"Are you sure?" James asked
"Yes, I'm going to clean myself up and calm down" Daphne replied
James nodded, as he winced remembering the last time Daphne got mad. He watched as Daphne left, before he turned his attention to Dumbledore, as he spoke.
"Don't worry everyone" He said, waving his wand, where all the paint disappeared completely "It was nothing more than a harmless prank, tuck back in and enjoy the rest of the feast"
As Harry ate, he could see Dumbledore watching him from the corner of his eye. He had seen the Headmaster looking at him on multiple occasions and it always bothered him slightly. It was unnerving. Why would the Headmaster be watching him?
"You okay Harry?" James asked "You look uneasy about something"
"It's the Headmaster, he has been looking at me for some time now, when we've been eating" Harry replied "It makes me a little nervous"
"I would be careful around him Harry" James replied "No matter what people say, he is not entirely trustworthy"
"Why is that?" Harry asked
James looked at him for a moment, before he looked to make sure no one was watching, or listening in on their conversation, before he pulled out a worn leather notebook from inside his robes.
"This, was one of my father's journal" He said "He owned quite a lot of these, enjoyed writing you see…anyway, I read through his journals quite a lot and I what I have seen written about Dumbledore doesn't make me trust him as far as I could trust him"
"What does it say?"
"According to what my father has written, during the first war, Dumbledore held secrets" James replied "Not just any secrets, he held information, rather important information that could have saved countless lives that were lost…ambushes by Death Eaters, or Vold…You-Know-Who's strategies and plans…he never told anyone, keeping all his cards close to his chest…if he just told some people, not everyone, but at least someone about the stuff he knows, they could have saved many people; the Bones family in particular, mostly wiped out because he held information…when you think about that, do you really think he is someone you can fully trust?"
"When you put it like that" Harry replied "But…why would he hold information?"
"Who knows" James sighed, as he put the journal away "All I know is, the more I think about it, the more I find myself struggling to have any trust for the 'great' Albus Dumbledore"
Harry wasn't sure what to think about that. He had remembered Hagrid telling him how great of a man Albus Dumbledore was, believing him to be the greatest, but now he had James telling him that Dumbledore held information that resulted in the deaths of possibly dozens of people. Whilst he wanted to believe Hagrid, the fact that James had written proof from his father, made it difficult to do so. Was Dumbledore really as great as Hagrid says he is? Harry was snapped from his thoughts, when the doors to the Great Hall burst open and Professor Quirrell ran in, looking terrified.
"TROLL!" He yelled "IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"
Everyone looked at Quirrell in shock.
"Thought you'd ought to know" He said softly, before he fell to the floor unconscious
Instantly, screams of terror rang across the Great Hall, as students began scrambling from their seats, dropping whatever they had and trying to run out the Hall, with many people being trampled.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore yelled, which caused everyone to stop and look at him "All Prefects, please escort your Houses to your Common Rooms, the Professors will follow me to the dungeons, now be on your way, stay together and wait until you have been given the all clear"
Though people were still scared about there being a troll in the school, everyone got into their respective Houses and followed their Prefects out.
"Now look" Flint said "Seeing as the Headmaster has forgotten that our Common Room is in the dungeons, we will go and wait in the library, now follow me"
Harry followed the rest of the Slytherins out of the Great Hall, until someone grabbed his arm. He looked to see James was next to him, looking a bit pale.
"What is it?" He asked
"Daphne" James replied
"What about her?"
"She went to the bathroom!" James said "She doesn't know about the troll!"
"W-what can we do?" Harry asked, as he too went slightly pale at the realisation
"We need to warn her and get her out quickly!" James said
Harry nodded, before the two of them snuck away from their House and ran down the opposite corridor, heading towards the bathrooms. Harry had to run rather quickly, in order to catch up to James, who was moving like a blur. As they came up to a corner, they felt the castle corridors rumbling, followed by some kind of thumping. James immediately grabbed Harry and push himself and Harry against the wall. They peeked around the corner, to see a rather large shadow on the other side, before a disgusting, green skin troll appeared.
"Shit!" James cursed silently "The troll left the dungeon"
"What can we do?" Harry asked, as they watched it disappear "It's heading into the girls bathroom"
"We need to come up with some sort of plan" James replied
It was that moment, when they heard a loud scream coming from the bathroom, followed by a large crash.
"Forget the plan" James said immediatley "Lets get to Daphne, quickly"
They quickly ran down the corridor, into the bathroom and took in the sight. The bathroom stalls were completely destroyed, the troll has its back turned to them, facing a cowering Daphne, who noticed their appearance.
"Help!" She called out to them
James immediatley grabbed a large piece of wood that broke from the stalls and immediatley threw it at the troll, just as it lifted its club. The wood hit it against its head, which caused it to stop and slowly turn to face them. It let out a loud roar, as it saw them and raised its club, approaching them. James pushed Harry out of the way, before he then jumped to avoid the club, as it came crashing down. However, the force of the impact threw James across the bathroom, where he hit his head on the wall. The troll took quite and interest in him and approached him, growling, but James couldn't do anything, as his vision went blurry, as everything around him spun.
Harry watched, as the troll approached James. He had to do something quickly. He did have one idea, but wasn't sure if it would work. His mind said 'screw it', as he took out his wand and pointed it to the trolls club, as it was raised in the air.
"Wingardium Leviosa" He said
It worked. The troll moved his arm, to crush James with its club, it looked confused, to see it had nothing in its hand. It then looked up to see his club levitating in the air, before it fell, hitting the troll hard on the head. This caused the troll to sway slightly, before beginning to fall forward. Thankfully, James was able to regain his senses, in order to move out the way, before the troll fell on top of him.
"Thanks Harry" He said slowly, before he approached Daphne "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah" She said, looking at the troll "Is it…dead?"
"I don't know" Harry replied "I…I think it's just knocked out"
"Oh my goodness"
The three of them turned to see Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell standing in front of them, looking shocked at what they were seeing, with Quirrell staring nervously at the troll as he wringed his hands together. Dumbledore also stared at the troll, in silence, not saying anything.
"What is going on here?" McGonagall demanded
"We…we went to get Daphne Professor" James replied, as he swayed a little bit "She wasn't in the hall when the troll was announced, we went to get her, to see the troll entering the bathroom, so we went to save her"
McGonagall looked to Harry and Daphne, who both nodded in confirmation. She looked at the bathroom and the unmoving body of the troll, before sighing.
"I see" She said "Whilst I don't like that you didn't follow instructions given to you by the Headmaster, take 5 points for each of you…for sheer dumb luck and, Mr Badger, may I suggest that you go to the Medical Wing and check if you are alright, you don't seem alright"
"Yes Professor" James said, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs
McGonagall nodded, before she and Snape went to clear everything up and move the troll, whilst Quirrell stood there, still staring at the troll, as James, Harry and Daphne left the bathroom. Dumbledore said nothing, as he watched the three of them leave, in deep thought.
…
There we are guys, that was chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed. Quite a lot has happened too.
First off, I hope you enjoyed the start of the chapter with Hagrid. I meant to add him in earlier, as I love his character, but forgot to, so I added him here. He will pop up in the story in future, though I don't know how important he will be to the story just yet. We'll see. We have also learnt that Hagrid and James know each other and James seems to be holding another secret from Harry. If you have a theory as to what that secret may be and let me know in the review section, where I can see if anyone gets it right.
Granger hasn't changed either it seems. I will admit, I forgot about the Charms class, don't ask how cause I don't know, so I had to add it in, which is why this is a long chapter. Now Harry seems to of had enough of Granger. Will she change? Maybe, maybe not, depends on what I choose to do.
Now though, the story is truly kicking off. No doubt some of you were waiting for the Halloween feast with the troll, so I am sorry for the wait. I hope you don't mind the reason why Daphne was in the bathroom, it's the best I could do. I should also mention that the brief appearance of Peeves a few chapters back, was a slight build up to his small moment in this chapter. We have also learnt that James isn't trusting towards Dumbledore. That will come up again in future chapters. No doubt that journal will come up again as well. The troll was also dealt with. I chose to keep it similar to canon, whilst changing up a few things. [Also can we just mention that Dumbledore basically made the Slytherins walk to potential death in the Philosophers stone with the troll situation?]. James also took a blow to the head. Will that have a long term affect? Find out next chapter!
Anyway, I do have a question to ask. How will you like first year to go? I have two ideas. Keep it close to canon, where they face Quirrell and the Stone, or have it so that they never find out about Fluffy, the Stone or Quirrell holding Voldemort in the back of his head? I do quite like the second option, but I want to see what you guys think first.
That's all for now, see you guys in Chapter 8
Badger out
