Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? Here's another chapter where plot happens and Seth is done with 11-year-old boys being 11-year-old boys even though he was once an 11-year-old boy and is also physically an 11-year-old boy. Sorry if that sounds confusing but it made sense in my head. Anyways, here you go, another chapter for you all.
Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work. Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books.
Warning: No beta, we die like Stingbulbs.
Chapter 6: This is Halloween, Everybody Make a Scene
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The Great Hall was filled with students for study hall with professors patrolling down the aisles to make sure that the students were actually using their time wisely. With our three Gryffindor boys though, there was a distinct lack of studying going on.
Harry and Ron idly flipped through their textbooks. Their notebooks were barely filled and the rolls of parchment for their assignments sat untouched.
Seth tapped his quill as he doodled in his notebook. He'd already finished his history of magic essay, his only incomplete assignment for the day. Only able to do so due to the notes he managed to bugger off some Ravenclaws at the start of study hall.
"What do you think that dog was guarding?" Ron whispered to Harry, keeping a careful watch out for any patrolling professors that may come their way.
"I don't know," Harry whispered back, "But it has to be important right? Otherwise, Dumbledore wouldn't have warned everyone to stay away or put a three-headed dog there to guard the entrance."
Seth barely bothered to pay attention to the conversation. He had more important things to do than investigate a single corridor and what it could be guarding. There was an entire castle with no explicit warning placed anywhere else within its halls to explore after all. Why limit himself to just one hallway?
Besides, he'd learned the hard way that sometimes, mysteries should stay mysteries because they were mysteries for a reason. The less said about that one ill-advised spelunking trip the better. Warren and Dale still gave him the cold shoulder every time he mentioned strawberry shortcake within their earshot.
So instead of participating, he was too busy thinking about his plan to disrupt the social order of Hogwarts. So far, it was wavering between stage one and stage two.
Stage one was where he'd make many key individuals question the prejudice they'd grown up with. Specifically those in his first year class and house since they were the only ones he could get a read on and have access to.
Stage two was where he would 'harass' students from different houses. And by harassing he meant sitting at a random table each study period (but not meal times yet cause some students and professors might actually have heart attacks if he did) and trying to make friends until either the students or a professor chased him off.
The rest of the stages were still in development though he was slowly loosing the motivation to come up with the details for the rest of his grand scheme. Planning was great and all but it also made causing chaos boring and energy consuming. Who wanted to plan how to trip someone with a banana when you could just toss the peel and be done with it?
So now here he was thinking about abandoning his plan altogether and doing whatever the hell he wanted because was it really chaos if there was any form of order to it? Now that he's thinking about it further...no, it wasn't. He's also technically on vacation so...
Alright, abandoning the plan he'd spent a month agonizing over and implementing was a go. Instead he'd do whatever the hell he wanted, damn the consequences...or well, most of the consequences. He still had some sense of self-preservation after all. At least his efforts were still bearing fruit even though he just decided to abandon all planning and do whatever he felt like doing.
So far, Hufflepuff was the most recipient to his presence. Whenever he'd pop by their table, they'd scoot over to offer him a seat before proceeding to surround him with warm conversation and stuff him full with snacks they'd snuck away from the kitchens.
Which, by the way, he needed to ask them about cause he had yet to find where the kitchens were and he'd really like a place to bake some of Grandma Sorenson's recipes. While Hogwarts food was great and all, nothing beat home cooking.
Hannah Abbot was an absolute sweetheart who must always be protected at all costs while Susan Bones was, in Seth's opinion, one hundred percent a wizard lawyer in the making. Her knowledge of wizarding law was enough to make even the professors' heads spin. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan were alright though he couldn't quite see where the loyalty aspect of Hufflepuff came in for those two. And he had no clue how the hell Zacharias Smith ended up in Hufflepuff given how much of an asshole the kid was, even more so than the Slytherins which was actually kind of impressive.
Professor Sprout would always pass by with a smile and a pat on the back accompanied by a compliment for doing what no other house had been willing to do in the past few centuries. Even though Seth gleefully reveled in his chaotic neutral stances, Sprout's warm words always made him feel like he should be leaning towards chaotic good.
Ravenclaw could give less of a shit as long as he didn't interfere with their studies. They were also really helpful in answering any questions he might have as long as those questions weren't some variation of 'can I copy your homework?'
In his year, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and Michael Corner were delightful and absolute riots despite being such nerds. Though Padma Patil, the twin of fellow Gryffindor Parvati Patil, seemed to have a good enough head on her shoulders to keep them in line.
Professor Flitwick also gave him a pass because he, too, believed in inter house unity and the deconstruction of prejudices, which made sense considering his goblin heritage.
Slytherin was the most hostile given how many jinxes he had to dodge just to reach their table. But it was good practice for his reflexes and he seemed to be slowly wearing them down as he'd only had to dodge fourteen jinxes today instead of the usual thirty plus.
Even though he had yet to get a word out of him, he'd at least gotten Draco to give nods of acknowledgement whenever he sat nearby. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were lost causes as all bodyguard/grunts were which was unfortunate because they would've made great minions. Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson gave him uncomfortable vibes whenever he sat nearby like they were trying to hex him through the sheer force of their presence. Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Theodore Nott were most certainly only playing the role of 'pureblood supremacist future Death Eater' Slytherins because they knew nothing else. Seth decided to make it his mission to offer them another option because how else could you break a cycle if there was no option B? And Blaise Zabini...was just Blaise Zabini who was in Slytherin cause he was the most cunning of the lot and thus, very tolerable towards Seth's presence.
Professor Snape never verbally objected to his presence but if looks could kill, his glare would've burned Seth to ashes a long time ago.
Gryffindor was the most confused and vocal about his house jumping practices. Many older students were wary and would always tell him to stop going to other tables, especially to Slytherin. They'd get up on their high horse and Seth always had fun knocking them down by rebuking their statements with some good ol reliable lawyer speak. The circles he'd talk around them were hilarious and he would always time himself to see how fast they'd drop the issue and leave.
Only Fred and George were encouraging of his actions as they believed that mischief making had no boundaries and the more people in on the joke as possible, the better the prank would be. He had also succeeded in getting them to find ways to help others skip class though not much encouragement was really needed. All he did was ask if they had anything that could help him skip DADA. They then slapped their foreheads for not thinking of that and immediately set to brainstorming. The ideas they came up with so far were actually kind of terrifying in their ingenuity if Seth was being honest. At the rate the twins were going, they could open their own shop by the time they graduated and be millionaires not even a year after.
His fellow first years were more confused about his actions as they were merely following the examples of their elders and the stories they'd been told. While none of them were quite willing to make the jump to sitting at the Slytherin table (sometimes they'd even glare whenever he did), a few were slowly but surely sitting with their Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff friends.
Professor McGonagall was rather silent on the matter but she seemed to approve as she would subtly nod whenever he made eye contact with her. Of course, she would always look like she had swallowed a lemon whenever he sat at the Slytherin table but hey, baby steps.
The other professors were mum about the whole thing since none of them were heads of houses though he could totally tell which house they belonged to given their expressions whenever he sat at a specific table. Though he had yet to figure out Professor Trelawney's affiliations because her reactions always made her seem like she's high.
Professor Dumbledore was an enigma though. He had never seen someone's eyes twinkle like that, especially not the eyes of an old man. But the Headmaster seemed to be approving of what he was doing as he'd yet to be stopped by any authority figures other than older students.
Oh well. Who cares what others think? Not Seth.
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Breakfast was in full swing in the great hall. Idle conversation was had and all was going as normally as normal could go in a school of magic.
Ron was stuffing his face with eggs, bacon, and pudding as Seamus and Dean looked on with fascination at the amount of food he was putting away. Hermione looked disgusted as she attempted to lecture him on his table manners but Ron merely chewed louder with his mouth open to get her to stop.
Seth was reading through a list of get out of class options that Fred and George were working on. They'd handed it to him earlier in the week to get a second opinion on what ideas they should be investing in and which could wait until later. So far, the fainting fancies, fever fudge, and puking pastilles sounded like amazing ideas. The nosebleed nougats could wait because magic involving blood got nasty no matter what you were trying to do with it.
In between the two boys, Harry was idly picking at his eggs while reading a 'Quidditch through the Ages' book that was propped against his goblet of pumpkin juice.
A chorus of chirping came from overhead and had the hall falling silent as the morning mail owls made their rounds.
Seth held out a hand as a small packet of letters landed directly in it. Kendra the Owl landed gracefully on his shoulder. He gave her some bacon as a reward for her hard efforts. Kendra nuzzled her soft, feathered head against his cheek before taking off back into the air.
Buzzing suddenly filled the hall when a team of five large owls flew in with a long wrapped package. The buzzing grew louder when the package was dropped in front of Harry, displacing his book and causing Ron's food to fly into the air due to one end hitting the side of his plate.
Harry gaped in shock at the package with its wrapping slowly getting soaked by pumpkin juice.
"Were you expecting a package or something, Harry?" Ron asked, looking mournfully at his ruined food.
Harry shrugged helplessly. "No. I never get mail."
"There's a letter attached," Hermione remarked, pointing at a small note card tied to the package. "Maybe it will tell you who it's from?"
Harry removed the note card from the package and softly read the card out to the other three.
Dear Mr. Potter,
DO NOT OPEN THIS PACKAGE AT THE TABLE. It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand. I don't want everybody to know you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session. DO NOT abuse the privilege you've been granted.
- Professor Mcgonagall
Ron stared at the package in awe, excitedly whispering, "A Nimbus 2000! That's brilliant, Harry! Let's see it, then."
Harry nodded as he eagerly reached a hand out to unwrap the package, completely ignoring McGonagall's warning.
"Hold on there," Seth cut in, placing a hand on Harry's to stop him. "Maybe we should open it in our dormitory? Away from prying eyes," he suggested while gesturing at the entire hall full of students now whispering and pointing at them.
"Oh yeah, good idea," Harry sheepishly agreed.
The three boys got out of their seats but before they could leave, a sharp 'ahem' stopped them in their tracks. The trio turned to see Hermione glaring at them like they'd just killed her cat or gotten her a detention.
"I'll bet you think this is some reward for breaking the rules then," she sharply said.
"Oh bugger off. It's none of your business," Ron retorted, waving at her dismissively.
Hermione gathered her things and got out of her seat to stand before the trio. "You better not get used to breaking the rules and expect there to be no consequences for you because it's not just you this will affect but the rest of us in Gryffindor as well."
She whirled around, making sure her bushy hair slapped both Ron and Harry in the face, before marching off with a huff.
"She really needs to get her priorities sorted," Ron grumbled out, rubbing at his face petulantly.
"Let's just head back to the dormitory already, before classes start," Seth urged, ushering them out of the hall as quickly as possible with the entire student body burning holes into their heads with all their staring.
Unfortunately for them, as soon as they'd gotten about halfway down the corridor leading to the great hall, Draco emerged from the shadows. He quickly snatched the package from Harry and examined it.
"That's a broomstick," Draco gleefully said as he tossed it back to Harry. Though his tone contradicted his expression, which was a mixture of jealousy and spite. "You're really in for it this time, Potter. First years aren't allowed to have their own yet."
"An exception was made for him," Ron rebuked.
Draco's face turned red with indignation.
"And I haven't quite thanked you yet, Malfoy," Harry said.
"Why's that, Potter?" Draco snarled.
"Because if you hadn't decided to pull that stunt with Neville's remembrall, I wouldn't have gotten scouted to join the team by Professor McGonagall," Harry smugly answered.
"And if you weren't the Boy who Lived, you would've been expelled the moment you were caught breaking the rules," Draco snapped back, finding vindictive joy when he saw Harry flinch and shrink into himself in response.
"That's right," he taunted gleefully, "The only reason why you're still even here is because of who you are. People everywhere will bend over backwards just to shower themselves in your fame and prestige. Your talent with a broom is only a bonus, an afterthought."
"Oh bugger off, Malfoy," Ron interjected, stepping protectively in front of Harry, "It's not Harry's fault your mum and dad didn't love you enough as a child."
Draco scoffed. "Me? Unloved? If anyone's unloved by their parents it'd be you, Weasley. How many brothers have your clothes gone through before being handed off to you? And I'm also sure that wand of yours isn't even your own but just another hand me down from your much more accomplished brothers."
Now Ron was the one turning red with indignation, whipping his wand out from his robes.
"What are you going to do, Weasley?" Draco mocked, sneering down at him, "Poke my eye out?"
"I'll do more than that you little death eater scum," Ron snarled.
"Alright, I think that's enough," Seth called out, placing himself in between the two boys. He pointed at Ron. "You...stop. You're a Gryffindor so I can't exactly tell you off for being headstrong and hope it sticks. But you," he pointed at Draco, "You are a Slytherin. Act like it. Be cunning. Be ambitious. Don't be a spoiled brat and a bully cause there's nothing cunning or ambitious about knocking a kid down just cause you're feeling jealous and petty."
Then Seth turned around to wrap his hands on the backs of Ron and Harry's cloaks, dragging them away with multiple protests before an actual fight could break out.
Draco was left behind, fuming at having been told off like a little child by the infuriating Seth Sorenson once again.
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"Alright class, today we will be working on one of magic's most basic skills...levitation, the ability to make objects fly!" Flitwick announced from his podium stand of books.
Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students sat separately from each other on the two different sides of the classroom. Both houses listened to his lecture with intense focus and excitement.
He pulled out his wand with a flourish. "We will finally be applying the swish and flick technique we'd been working on in the past week or so," he said before making a sharp wrist movement, "Do not forget the wrist movement as it's very vital for your spell. Let us do a refresher now, everyone."
The students lifted their wands up and followed Flitwick's movements.
"Swish and flick!"
Flitwick nodded in approval. "Now the spell to levitate objects is Wingardium Leviosa. Off you go then!"
Soon an unspoken competition formed between the two houses over who could get the spell right first.
The Ravenclaws watched their feathers and their forms while enunciating the spell with different degrees of emphasis. They wanted to prove that they were as clever as their namesake.
The Gryffindors repeatedly spammed their wrist movements and the spell over and over again, expecting sheer force of will to work in their favor. They were competing simply because it seemed like the Gryffindor thing to do and they were also just competitive.
Seth stared, bored as hell, at his feather as he watched everyone try and fail to get the spell to work. Except Hermione who was practicing her wrist movements as she held her wand like she was holding a teacup. She glanced over to him.
"Are you not even going to try it, Seth?"
"You're not doing it either," he remarked, "You're just practicing the movements over and over again."
"That's because practice makes perfect and I want to get the spell on my first try," she explained, still going through the motions as she spoke to him. "What's your excuse?"
"Levitation is boring. I thought we were going to do something more advanced than making a feather float," he whined.
"You think our first charms spell is boring?" she asked, eyeing him incredulously.
"Of course it is, it's the most basic spell in the book, even a baby could get it right," he retorted, "Wingardium leviosa!"
He made the swish and flick movement resulting in his feather rising up a few inches before gently falling back down. "See?" he pointedly said as if what just occurred made his point valid.
Hermione rolled her eyes, though the corners of her lips do quirk up a bit into a smile. Then their attention was caught by Ron violently flicking his wand and placing heavy emphasis on the wrong parts of the spell.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Hermione cried out, holding out a hand to halt Ron's movements, "You're going to take someone's eye out!"
Ron stopped his violent motions and put his wand down with a frown.
"And besides, you're saying it all wrong," she continued to lecture, "It's wingardium leviOsa, not levioSA."
Ron rolled his eyes. "You do it then if you're so clever," he said, gesturing at her feather, "Go on then!"
Hermione gave him a look before gracefully picking up her wand and performing a perfect swish and flick. "Wingardium leviosa!"
Her feather rose from the table, higher and higher and higher, until it caught everyone's attention and the room fell silent as everyone stared at the floating feather in awe.
"Well done, Ms. Granger!" Flitwick exclaimed, "Five points to Gryffindor!"
Hermione smiled smugly at Ron as she brought her feather back down to the table. Ron scowled and looked away with a huff, a put upon expression on his face.
Suddenly an explosion went off, startling everyone and almost toppling Flitwick off his stack of books. Everyone's gaze snapped towards the origin of the explosion and saw Seamus covered in soot and his feather blown to smithereens.
Harry, who'd been sitting right next to him, stared at the aftermath in flabbergasted shock. "I think we're going to need another feather over here, professor."
XXXXXX
The Gryffindor boys rushed out of the classroom and into the courtyard. Seamus, Dean, and Seth were in the front while Harry, Ron, and Neville trailed a bit further away behind them.
"How in the world did you make a basic levitation spell explode in your face?" Dean asked incredulously.
"And how do I do that myself?" Seth asked with joking curiosity.
"Well lads, all you need is faith, trust, and," Seamus pulled out his wand, "A magic matchstick!"
The three of them laughed.
Seth stopped when he saw Hermione walking past. "Oh hey, Hermione! What's-"
But she kept walking with her head down, picking up her pace in an attempt to leave the courtyard as soon as possible. Seth frowned and turned to ask the others if they knew what happened when he saw Neville glance nervously at Ron and say, "I think she heard you."
His frown grew deeper and he walked up to Ron.
"What the hell did you say?" he sharply demanded.
"Nothing! I didn't say nothing!" Ron protested. But Seth glared harshly at him, prompting him answer. "I only said that Hermione was a bit of a nightmare and that's why she's got no real friends because people only ever talk to her for help on their homework."
Seth had to take in a deep breath and count to ten in order to stop himself from punching an 11-year-old boy for being an 11-year-old boy. He slowly released that breath and glared more sharply at Ron, feeling a bit of satisfaction when the ginger boy jerked back in fear.
"Next time, think before you speak because sticks and bones may break bones but words cut deeper than they have any right too," Seth hissed before rushing off to find Hermione.
He left Ron standing there, feeling extremely guilty with each passing moment, as Harry patted his back in comfort and Neville nervously offered reassurance. Seamus and Dean tutted at Ron.
"You should go apologize to her when you have the chance, mate," Seamus recommended.
Dean nodded sagely. "Yeah, cause hell hath no fury than a woman scorned."
Ron paled at that. Dean and Seamus nodded in satisfaction before walking off.
XXXXXX
Seth wandered through the halls, looking high and low through each available floor and wherever the staircases took him as he searched for Hermione.
His stomach growled something fierce and he checked his watch for the time. "It's dinner already?" He sighed. "And it's the big Halloween feast too. Damn. I really wanted to have candy for dinner."
He slapped his cheeks. "No! Focus!" He said to himself. "Hermione is an important friend who needs someone right now because good friends help each other even when that friend really just wants to eat sweets right now."
He shook his head to rid himself of unnecessary thoughts and returned his focus to the task at hand. "Alright, if I was a prepubescent girl who just got her feelings hurt by an idiot boy, where would I go?"
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Then a light bulb went off.
"The girl's bathroom!"
XXXXXX
Seth tentatively walked up to the door of the girl's bathroom. He leaned closely till his ear was against the door as he knocked. "Hermione? Are you in there?"
There was no response but he could hear the faint sound of crying coming from within. "Hermione?" he called out again in worry when the crying was immediately stifled and replaced with sniffling. "I hope no one else is in there with you cause I'm coming in."
He gently opened the door and saw Hermione huddled in a corner on the other side. She ducked her head down under her arms when she spotted him but not before he saw the tears streaking down her face.
Seth slowly made his way over to her. He sat down beside her, close enough for her to lean on him should she need it but not close enough for her to feel stifled. He put his hands on his knees as he brought them up towards his chest.
They sat there for some time. Neither one spoke to the other. Only the sounds of Hermione desperately trying to stifle her crying could be heard echoing throughout the bathroom.
Eventually, she lifted her face from the impromptu shelter and wiped the tears away. "What do you want, Seth? Don't you know this is the girl's bathroom?"
He shrugged. "Eh. That's not gonna stop me from helping out a friend. Besides, if there'd been any other girls in there with you, you would've been outta there and hexing Ron long before I found you."
"A friend?" She asked skeptically. "I thought you were just another idiot boy who only ever spoke to me for help on homework."
"Um, excuse you. That's what the Ravenclaws are for," he dramatically scoffed. He grinned triumphantly when she chuckled in response. "And I consider you my friend whether you're a nightmare or not. All the best friends are to an extent. That's what keeps friendships interesting and long lasting."
"You consider me a friend?" she tentatively asked.
He nodded vigorously. "Of course! My best friend in fact! I don't risk getting mauled by a pack of angry girls with magic wands for just anybody you know."
Hermione beamed brightly at him.
He smiled back in return as he slowly got up and offered a hand out to her. "Now come on. There's a whole pumpkin pie with chocolate sprinkled on top calling my name."
She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she took his hand. "Chocolate on pumpkin pie?"
"Don't knock it before you try it."
Just then, the two stopped on their short trek to the exit when a horrendous smell assaulted their senses.
"Ugh! What in the world is that?" Hermione asked as she pinched her nose with a grimace.
Seth took another tentative sniff before quickly pinching his own nose. "Smells like old gym socks and unclean public restrooms."
Then a low grunting and shuffling sound could be heard faintly down the hall through the open door. The two shared a look before quickly making their escape from whatever was making that sound and smell.
Before they could reach the exit, the ugliest looking mountain troll Seth had ever seen shuffled in. It was twelve feet tall with dull, granite grey skin and a great lumpy body like a boulder with a small bald head perched on top like a coconut. Its long ears waggled as it dragged a large wooden club across the floor. Somehow, Seth got the feeling that a Duggish banana joke might not have the same effect like it did with Udnar.
Hermione gripped his arm tightly before he could say anything and slowly dragged him back along with her. Her expression was one of complete terror. Suddenly, the door closed and locked with a click.
"Well shit," Seth said as Hermione let loose a high-pitched scream that prompted the troll to lift its club and swing it towards them.
Seth wrapped his arms around her and threw the two of them down as the club whooshed above them and broke through the wooden walls of the bathroom stalls. As he looked up, he saw the door swing back open as Ron and Harry stumbled inside.
The two boys looked over to Seth and Hermione, shoulders sagging in relief. Then they looked to the large troll in fear and determination.
"Oy! Pea brain!" Ron called out, tossing a piece of a stall at its head.
The troll lazily blinked with a grunt and slowly made its way towards Ron as Harry separated from him and rushed towards Seth as he helped Hermione back up.
"Come on! Let's go!" Harry hurriedly insisted as he latched onto Hermione's arm and helped Seth guide her towards the exit as Ron continued to distract the troll.
However, the echoing noise from both Harry and Ron caused great confusion for the troll as its head turned back and forth between the two boys. The confusion grew into anger and it roared before charging at Ron like a football player going for a touchdown no matter who stood in its way.
Before Seth could shout at the troll to stop, Harry did the bravest and stupidest thing that would've made actual 11-year-old Seth of the past damn proud. The boy took a running jump and wrapped his arms around the troll's neck. He pulled his wand out and shoved it straight up the troll's nose.
It roared out in pain and anger, flailing around in order to shake Harry off. Harry clung on for dear life as Ron shouted the first spell he could think of. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club suddenly flew out of the troll's hand and high into the air before dropping down and making harsh contact with its head. The troll swayed violently before falling flat on its face with a thud hard enough to make the floor shake.
Harry clambered off the troll as Ron, Seth, and Hermione joined him in standing beside the troll's unconscious body.
"Is it dead?" Hermione tentatively asked.
Seth tapped the troll's arm with his foot. "No, I think it's just unconscious. Troll heads are made of stern stuff."
Harry bent down to pull his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in a lumpy grey substance. "Ugh, troll boogers," he remarked in disgust as he wiped his wand off on the troll's pants.
A sudden rush of loud footsteps had the four of them looking up to see Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell rushing into the bathroom. Quirrell took one look at the troll before shuffling out of the bathroom with a whimper as he clutched at his heart. Snape walked over to examine the troll with a frown while McGonagall marched over to the four of them with the angriest expression Seth had ever seen on an old woman.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" McGonagall said with fury cold enough to turn water into ice. "You're lucky you weren't killed! Why weren't you in your dormitory?"
Before any of the boys could answer, Hermione stepped forward from behind them. "Please, Professor McGonagall. They were looking for me."
"Miss Granger!" McGonagall exclaimed in surprise.
"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 about them," Hermione stammered out.
The three boys shared looks of outright surprise because Hermione Granger, the teacher's pet and rule follower extraordinaire, was lying to a professor?
"If they hadn't found me, then I'd be dead now," Hermione continued to explain. "Seth talked me out of it but before we could leave, the troll came in. Then Harry and Ron came after it. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its club."
McGonagall gaped at her before clearing her throat. "Well, in that case...Miss Granger! You foolish girl! How could you even think of tackling a mountain troll by yourself?"
Hermione hung her head in shame and guilt as Harry and Ron did their best to hide their shock and make it look like her lie was actually the truth. Seth placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked at him gratefully.
"Miss Granger, ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," McGonagall firmly stated, "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better head off to the Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."
Hermione left the room, hesitantly looking back as she stood by the doorway before Seth shooed her off with a reassuring smile.
Mcgonagall turned to face the three remaining boys. "Well, I believe you were all rather lucky to survive as not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll and lived to tell the tale. You each win Gryffindor five points. But Professor Dumbledore will be notified of this. You may go."
The three boys rushed out of the bathroom, only slowing down when they were about halfway to the common room.
"You'd think she'd give us more than 15 points for risking our lives," Ron grumbled.
"It's actually five after you remove the points Hermione lost," Harry stated.
"Good of her to get us out of trouble though, since we did save her after all," Ron begrudgingly admitted.
"Well you wouldn't have needed to save her at all if you hadn't locked the door on us," Seth deadpanned.
Ron colored in embarrassment and didn't say anything for the rest of their trip back to the dorms.
They reached the Fat Lady's portrait and it swung open once they all said the password. The common room was jam packed and noisy with students cheerfully socializing as they downed plate after plate of wonderful food. Hermione stood by the door, obviously having waited for them.
However, Seth's gaze zeroed in on an entire pumpkin pie with chocolate flakes sprinkled on top. "Sorry guys, but a chocolate sprinkled pumpkin pie is currently calling out my name."
Before he rushed off, he gave Hermione a quick hug. "I'm glad you're okay."
Then he was off like a bullet with only pie in mind. Meanwhile, the remaining three awkwardly stood around in embarrassing silence. With none of them looking at the other, they all thanked each other, and then hurried off to get their own plates.
And from that moment on, a golden quartet of friends had been formed.
And that's all she wrote! For now! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter cause the plot is finally going to start picking up in the next. Until then!
