I don't own Harry Potter, so sue me.

If you don't know what symbolizes the thoughts by now, I hate to say it, but you have an incredibly short memory span. But seriously, just look back at chapter two.

Chapter Five, Year One: Halloween (p. 170)

Perhaps it was because he was so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of his homework, but Salazar could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been back at Hogwarts for two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had (mainly because he had lived at Hogwarts for twenty years of his life 1000 years ago). And, in most everyone's opinion, the lessons were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning they woke up to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin bread wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, which was like Christmas had come early to Salazar. If he had to spend another week in the Gryffindor common room, listening to his year-mates talk about this particular lesson like the Messiah was coming (again), he'd hex them all four ways to Reikai1. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Salazar's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief because Neville had been trying to catch his eye, and Draco was shooting him dirty looks). Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Salazar's broomstick had arrived.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important too-never forget Wizard Baruffio who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." Salazar wondered briefly about the coincidence that the man's name was Baruffio, and he ended up with a buffalo, but quickly cast the thought aside when he realized that he should be concentrating on charms practice. The idea to concentrate, even though it was a basic spell, took hold firmly when Seamus got so impatient, he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it-Salazar panicked to the extent that he put it out with his hat.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Salazar heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here. Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of class.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Salazar as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Salazar as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Salazar caught a glimpse of her face-and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"I think she heard you."

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends." Salazar felt like yelling. It was obvious, at least to thousand year old reincarnations of Founders, that Ron had a bit of a crush on Hermione.

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Salazar and Ron overheard Pavarti Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girl's bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, which in turn made Salazar want to hit some sense into him even more. A moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of at least Ron's mind, temporarily.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Salazar was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Salazar thought he glimpsed a bit of a strange tattoo on the back of Quirrell's head. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped, "Troll-in the dungeons-thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to their dormitories immediately!"

Percy was in his element.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

"How could a troll get in?" Salazar asked Ron, stupidly thinking he'd receive an intelligent, well thought out answer.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in as a Halloween joke."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Salazar suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.

"I've just thought-Hermione."

"What about her?" Salazar wanted to strangle Ron.

"She doesn't know about the troll," Salazar replied, glaring at Ron who was standing there like an idiot.

Ron but his lip.

"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy better not see us." Salazar refrained from commenting on the facts that Ron was: a. in Gryffindor House, and should therefore have jumped at the chance of rescuing Hermione. And b. was starting to sound like Hermione.

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Salazar behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy, but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Salazar whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me." Salazar bit his cheek to keep a sharp retort in check.Sometimes he wondered why he bothered with Ron.

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.

"He's heading for the third floor," Salazar said, but Ron held up his hand.

"Can you smell something?"

'Yes, something fishy is afoot, if I want to be cliché.' Salazar sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. 'Yep, rotten fish.'

And then they heard it-a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed-at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows, something that Ron was only half able to do with his red hair, and watched as it emerged into a path of moonlight.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with its flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly inside the room.

"The key's in the lock," Salazar muttered, seeing that Ron was obviously not going to be coming up with any bright ideas soon. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying that the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Salazar managed to grab the key, slam the door and lock it.

"Yes!" 'Another thing to brag about in Godric face next I see him!'

Flushed with their victory, or rather with Salazar flushed with victory and with Ron happy to have remained alive and in one piece, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop-a high, petrified scream-and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.

"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.

"It's the girls' bathroom!" Salazar gasped.2

"Hermione!" they said together.

It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Salazar pulled the door open and they ran inside.

Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. Salazar could've snorted. Two Gryffindors acting like cowards and a Slytherin playing the hero. Salazar decided there was something wrong with the picture. The troll was advancing on her, knocking off sinks as it went.

"Confuse it!" Salazar said desperately to Ron, and seizing a tap, he threw it hard against the wall. 'Why can't Ron have learned more hexes?! Even if they won't do any good. Why can't I use Dark Magic?! Oh, yeah. Because I'm the bloody Boy-Who-Didn't-Die and he isn't allowed to use Dark Magic, that's why!!! And why am I throwing things against the wall?!'

The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. It's mean little eyes saw Salazar. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Salazar time to run around it. 'Finally, Gryffindor courage kicks in.'

"Come on, run, run!" Salazar yelled at Hermione, tying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror. 'Why couldn't Gryffindor courage kick in for this one as well?' Salazar thought in despair.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Salazar 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. The troll couldn't feel Salazar hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Salazar's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped-it had gone straight one of the troll's nostrils. Salazar murmured the burning hex 'ardens' under his breath.

Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed it's club, with Salazar clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club. 'Three cheers for Gryffindor stupidity.' Salazar thought cynically.

Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand-not knowing what he was going to do he head himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned over slowly-and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and the fell flat on it face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

Salazar got to his feet . He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.

It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is it-dead?"

"I don't think so," said Salazar, "I think it's just been knocked out."

He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue. 'Urgh, brain matter, disgusting!' Salazar knew that the stuff couldn't be mucus, it would've harden because of the hex. However, for the sake of the Gryffindors' sensitive morals he said instead, "Urgh, troll boogers." He wiped it on the troll's trousers.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrel bringing up the rear. Quirrel took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Salazar. Salazar had never seen her so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Salazar's mind3.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Salazar looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape gave Salazar a swift, piercing look, no doubt attempting to use Legilimency to try to find out what happened. Salazar looked at the floor; eye contact was vital for Occlumency to work properly. That and he was embarrassed. He wished Ron would put his wand down.

Then a small voice came out of the shadows.

"Please, Professor McGonagall-they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.

"I went looking for the troll because I-I thought I could deal with it on my own-you know, because I've read all bout them."

Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? Salazar was torn between shock and disgust. On one hand, he was getting out of trouble, and it was reassuring that someone had his back who was intelligent. On the other...it was really stupid, in a nice way, for Hermione to take all the blame.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Salazar and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. This meant that Salazar carefully tried not to look directly into Snape's eyes, and Ron was staring triumphantly at a wall.

"Well, in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head. Salazar was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

"Miss Granger, five points shall be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermione left.

Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else. It was also nice to get away from Snape. The man's Legilimency skills were proving to be quite annoying for Salazar.

"We should've gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled. Salazar had to disagree; they were lucky not to get in trouble. That, and the red head's logic was slightly off.

"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."

"Good of her to get us put of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."

"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Salazar reminded him. It was funny the way every outcome was indirectly linked with other's actions.

They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout," they said and entered.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend (though Salazar would be loathe to admit it outside, or inside, his outer Harry persona). There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.4

A/N: Well, that took longer than expected. Anyway, I didn't feel like adding as many Salazar thoughts in this chapter. One because the last chapter, I felt, had too many of them. The second is that I was just too lazy. And three, if you look carefully enough, you can see that some of Harry's Slytherin side comes out more in this chapter. You have to really squint though. And get put a magnify glass while you're at it.

1. Reikai is the Spirit World, literally translated too. Can anyone tell I'm a Yu Yu Hakusho fanatic?

2. In Salazar's time, it was a professor's quarters. There had to more professors there than just the four of them. It's simply not practical, otherwise.

3. You must be wondering why Salazar Slytherin wants to win points for Gryffindor House. It's simple: he wants to fit in there better, so that, if he acts a bit too Slytherin, no one will question him. That and if he breaks the rules, the other members might forgive him more easily.

4. Instead of typing that sentence I almost typed, "There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's Mastercard."