Halle Potter and the first year of madness
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Two weeks had passed since the Balcony incident. The trio as agreed, had stuck to their plan to tail Dewei Zabini, with a few exceptions.
The two Fridays had once again seen the trio have visits with Hagrid and the Gryffindors having fun together after another set of dreadful potion lessons. Their first week was a story night, sharing their most insane memories.
Everyone who grew up with magic had much more fascinating stories but the others had found Her's, Ryan's and Dean's stories interesting too especially their anecdotes of accidental magic.
The second week had seen an inventive game of girls vs boys whilst being blind folded and doing a sort of team relay game with two balls. That had been Freja's idea and the game felt very reminiscent of the sports days that Halle did at Primary school.
Halle loved and hated sports day. It was a day away from class and Halle actually excelled at sports day usually winning or coming second place often and almost always beating Dudley, but the day for Halle while sitting outside amongst her entire school usually were some of her loneliest as no one wanted to talk to her.
Freja was refereeing the game as the number of girls was uneven and of course Dewei had refused to play. He no doubt was getting the peace he so desperately craved.
Dewei was aware of what the trio were doing of course but the other Gryffindors didn't pay too much attention to the trios sudden eagerness to be friends with Dewei Zabini. Well, most of them didn't, but Halle had caught Hermione spying them a lot during their meal times and their classes for the entire two weeks but she had said nothing about it.
Matt and Freja had questioned them about it early on into the new arrangement, in the common room one night when Dewei had slipped off to the dormitory. The only place he could get away from them except Neville.
They had brushed off the question with a simple "Just getting to know him better." But Halle could tell that the two friends didn't believe them, however they dropped the subject and the five of them had done some homework together that night.
They weren't the only ones to notice this new arrangement.
The Snake gang seemed to take interest in this too. Phina didn't take too kindly to them fraternising with Dewei and was even more vicious in her taunts than usual, whilst Draco and Pansy felt the need to comment about them trying to make friends with a pureblood that was rich and wasn't a disgrace to the name of wizard.
Blaise never said a word, at least not to them, but Halle would sometimes catch him staring at them, just as he would sometimes catch her staring at him. When she wasn't focused on Dewei she would look towards the Slytherin table to watch Blaise, mostly during meals but even then he had been very inactive over the last two weeks, but the boy still had time to give them appraising looks. Every time they caught one another, their eyes would quickly shift away as though they hadn't been staring at each other. It unnerved Halle a lot but she said nothing about it.
During the first few days of their plan, the three of them had discussed whether their approach was too blatant and if they should have a more subtle tact. Halle after a lot of deliberation had told herself that their approach wasn't just for him. It was for C.S too. They were waiting for his next move. Without knowing any of the connections of the unknown mystery they were involved in, they didn't know how to go about things. A bold play was the only move that Halle could think of.
They had no idea if such a move would affect C.S's plans for them or Dewei, together or separately but they had established that they had made a move to him. So now they would wait whilst watching Dewei and attempting to protect him as well as themselves at the same time.
It was hardly a foolproof plan, Halle knew that, but without all the facts of whatever this situation was, it was the only workable plan they had.
They sat with Dewei everyday, whether it was in the hall, classes, or the Library, much to his annoyance. Neville never followed him into the dormitory not until he needed to go to bed at least. Dewei, when no one else was around would insult them and threaten them with some colourful, yet somehow still sophisticated language.
He'd threaten to hex them. Shove their wands in unsavoury places or threaten to punch them in the face, if they didn't leave him alone but he never followed up on these threats.
Halle and Neville did however have to stay strong in their pursuit a few times just to how believable some of the threats sounded, Ronnie however seemed to be spurred on by his threats and sometimes would take the lead in following him. As though annoying him had become a new pastime for her. It especially helped Neville when Halle was away during quidditch practice during Tuesday and Saturday afternoon's.
He often did try to slip away if not in the common room and he was quite good at almost losing them but Halle's eyes were quick and they usually caught up with him in the corridors or class which especially resulted in having to nearly bounce into whoever was going to sit next to him.
This was usually only Hermione. After the first two weeks of classes they ended up sitting together nearly every lesson. Halle found it odd, seeming as he would never speak to her outside of classes but perhaps for Dewei that was a tactic that proved useful seeming as most of the Gryffindors didn't like Hermione. They weren't cruel to her but they all kept their distance especially the other girls. It was only really Matt and Freja who made an effort to properly talk to her but even then this was only really when doing homework or offering to include her on Fridays.
After four days of the routine of following Dewei, he had resigned himself to just ignoring their presence. Not that it mattered. They didn't speak directly too him, just around him, usually about anything but their passageway or plans.
The only other times that Dewei was shot of them was in the evenings after dinner and the last two Sunday's in the passageway.
Like the night of going to the tower, they in the last two weeks would finish their dinners early and leave the hall and head for the lake.
They decided not to risk the passageway during the weekdays in case someone got suspicious each night of their early absence from dinner and followed them.
From the first Monday evening they had begun practicing their chosen spells until curfew each day.
The easiest spell to learn was the knock back jinx. Halle and Ronnie had mastered it after two days. Neville hadn't mastered it but they weren't surprised. Neville's spells especially in charms always went awry.
That didn't stop Halle and Ronnie from encouraging him wholeheartedly. Besides one of the more encouraging factors that they informed him of was the fact that his spells tended to have a lot more power when going wrong.
Halle had learnt that on their second night of practice, when he had first attempted the spell on her and she had gone flying back an impressive four feet off the ground. They had made sure to have protection during their next sessions.
Both girls told him that once he gained a good control of his magic that his spells would probably be very powerful. He put extra effort in after that and by Thursday he had mastered the spell fully. It was a joy to see him so happy about it.
They attempted the fire making spell next.
It had taken them a full week of constant practice to master it but all three had eventually managed it. The spell had taken a lot out of them but each day of practicing made the spell little by little easier to manage. Neville couldn't believe he could even cast the spell but his fire wasn't as controlled as he would've liked. Ronnie seemed to excel at this charm probably because it matched her fiery personality.
Their Sundays had them half their time with practicing the spells, taking their notes and research as well as doing some homework.
Halle had to admit that other than quidditch practice, being in the passageway was some of the best times she ever had, even if that time was spent studying. The passageway had a very welcoming feel now and it felt great to keep her promise to herself whilst spending time with just Ronnie and Neville.
Last week Saturday had seen the trio attempting the Full body bind curse. This was proving to be the tricky spell.
They were informed that the levitation charm would be taught in their charms class soon, so they decided they wanted to attempt the binding curse first to get the hardest one out of the way.
The trio had been using insects to attempt the spell but barely even small wisps of magic left their wands. Not only was pronunciation a slight problem for them but energy was too. They felt extremely tired and hungry each night after attempting it.
They hadn't made much progress since, and their frustration was starting to get to them.
It had gotten to Halle so much that she hadn't even realised one morning that the date was Halloween. She had only found out when they had gotten to the hall for breakfast. There was a buzz in the air amongst the students as everyone talked of their excitement for the feast later that night.
The Halloween feast was apparently a big deal in Hogwarts. Halle remembered how Ronnie had talked of her own excitement as she told them and a scowling Dewei that the teachers apparently put on a massive display for the occasion and that the food other than Christmas day apparently was grander than ever.
Halle was somewhat excited herself mostly being caught up in the buzz of her peers but she was much more subdue than most.
The day was a painful reminder that it was the anniversary of her parents death.
The memory of Hagrid's revelation flooded her mind. That a dark wizard called Voldemort had come into her home and murdered her parents and had tried to kill her too but had failed. It was strange that she had a physical reminder of this fact, everyday and yet she hadn't thought about her lightning shaped scar since the beginning of term.
Her ten year old scar.
A small pit formed in her stomach as thoughts of her unknown parents floated around her head.
Neville was the first to immediately notice the change in his raven haired friend. He had pulled her aside and asked her in the common room if she was alright. Halle had given him a weak hearted smile and told him that she was fine. She knew from one frown that he didn't believe her but he chose to leave well enough alone.
Ronnie also noticed Halle's mood and at several points during breakfast had asked her if she was ok. Halle resigned to simply nodding her head or answering with one worded responses while picking at bits of her breakfast.
Even Dewei could sense that she was not her usual self, though he did his best not to be concerned by the change in Halle's mood. Luckily for him, she didn't notice that he took furtive glances in her direction.
When they had arrived at their first lesson, Charms, Professor Flitwick decided to partner up the class with half of the Gryffindors being partnered with half of the Ravenclaws and half of both houses staying house paired.
He apparently wanted some of the stronger students in charms to be paired with some of the weaker students. The students who stayed with their house meant they were doing reasonably well this term, though Professor Flitwick had still partnered the house paired students with one stronger and one weaker than the other.
There was one exception which was Hermione Granger. She of course had been top of the class for the last two months but she had been kept house paired for some odd reason and of all the students that she could've been paired with, Professor Flitwick chose Ronnie.
Ronnie and Hermione were both visibly irked by the partnering but both seemed to have an unspoken agreement to not protest out loud about it and get on with the work.
Halle found it strange that Hermione wasn't paired with the likes of Lisa Turpin who most of the time managed to just send sparks from her wand then actual spells and on one occasion fireworks. She had been paired with Padma who among Hermione, Dewei, Matt and Freja were the strongest academically in Gryffindor.
Neville was paired with a deep red headed, Ravenclaw girl called Amelia Coil, who physically grimaced at her partnering. Everyone knew that Neville was not the best caster in the world but Halle couldn't help but slightly scowl at the girls displeasure.
She had never spoken to the girl. In fact, she hadn't spoken to most of the Ravenclaws or the Hufflepuff's for that matter. Most of their classes didn't have their professors partner them. They usually partnered themselves and all four houses had a tendency to stay house paired.
Gryffindor had thirteen students whilst Ravenclaw had twelve so there was always an extra Gryffindor in their classes. This was the only occasion where they were paired with another house, excluding Herbology where there was usually groups of four working at one tray together.
Professor Sprout usually grouped two pairs of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs together. Hufflepuff, the largest house also had an even number of fourteen students. Usually the only people in Gryffindor who rotated being the extra member was herself, Ronnie and Neville and in the last two weeks Hermione. Matt and Freja always got taken by the other two trios. Halle wasn't surprised. Both had amazing personalities and were fun to be around.
When it was Halle's turn she always got paired with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot who were both female Neville's in nature but were very sweet to Halle and knew what they were doing so she always made time for a quick chat in the corridors or the library anytime she saw them. She hadn't spoken to any of the other Hufflepuff's.
Professor Flitwick in particular always paired the extra Gryffindor, with two Ravenclaws. Depending on the trio, Halle had only twice been paired with the Ravenclaws. She had however gotten on well in the two said lessons with Sue Li, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst and Anthony Goldstein and had a conversation with them here and there out of class, but she hadn't made much of an effort to get to know the rest of them, other than their names.
She made a mental note to try and break that habit. She hadn't been given the chance to make friends at Primary school, she didn't want to squander her chances at Hogwarts.
Halle looked back towards the red headed girl who's hair wasn't fire orange like Ronnie's or Auburn red like Lu's but blood red like a cherry. She gave a pleasant enough smile to Neville as he sat down next to her. She watched the pair for a moment. The girl seemed nice from afar but Halle silently warned the girl in her head, to keep Neville encouraged. She wouldn't stand for anyone making Neville feel less than brilliant, especially after the last few weeks.
Dewei was paired with a dark brunette boy called Michael Corner. Michael practically looked like a scared little mouse as Dewei sat next to him. His scowl in the last two weeks since they had begun following him had definitely hardened even further and Michael was definitely feeling it's affects.
Halle felt sorry for the boy. She knew that Dewei was definitely the stronger student of the pair and would no doubt be even further stressed out by Michael's lack of Spellmanship. Halle had learnt that exclusively in the last two weeks when being paired with him. Only Halle had been the one to sit next to Dewei in classes. Neville was too nervous and Ronnie was too fiery. So she had been partnering up with him in all their classes except Herbology.
Flitwick had kept Halle house paired and had paired her with Seamus Finnegan. Halle would've felt wary about the partnering given Seamus's particular skill set but she put those feelings aside as she was eager to learn the levitation spell.
The anticipation had even made her forget her silent sorrow of missing her parents.
Professor Flitwick began the double lecture. He talked about the magical theory of the spell, the wrist movement, the importance of visualisation and the pros and cons of saying the correct incantation which took up the first period before he told the class to start attempting the spell.
Herself and Seamus started trying to raise their own feathers but after twenty minutes or so both of their feathers were still flat on the desk and Seamus managed to set his on fire although to his credit his feather did raise in the air for a moment.
Halle felt that, her own frustration from being unable to perform the full body bind curse was impeding on her ability to cast the levitation spell which was far simpler by comparison.
She felt this was the case for her two friends as well.
Neville had shot his feather somehow into Amelias nose, whereas Ronnie was now resulting to waving her wand around like a mad woman. Though that was probably due to the fact that Hermione had been giving her pointers for the last twenty minutes instead of working on her own feather.
She could tell her friend was getting more stressed as time went on. She managed to hear Ronnie's low growl as she spoke to Hermione.
"Granger I get that you're a smart know it all but please for the sake of my sanity shut up and concentrate on your own feather. I don't need your little comments. That isn't helping me."
Halle took focus off her feather and turned to see Ronnie glare at Hermione.
Hermione only returned the glare and replied rather smugly.
"It's not my fault Weasley that you're not capable of doing the spell correctly. You keep waving your wand like that and you're going to take someone's eye out. Besides you're saying it wrong. It's Leviosa not Leviosar."
"You do it then." Snarled Ronnie.
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her robes, flicked her wand ever so graciously and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Her 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!"
If looks could kill, Hermione would be dead.
Hermione gave Ronnie the most complacent smile before giving a toothy grin of thanks to Professor Flitwick.
Halle saw Ronnie's fists tighten around her wand. Halle was scared for a second that Ronnie was going to attack Hermione but she didn't, she managed to take a quick breath for a second, and put her wand back down.
Halle let out a sigh of relief.
Halle knew that Ronnie didn't care that Hermione had done the spell, she was angry at the fact that Hermione was flaunting her intelligence at her. Ronnie also hadn't forgiven the girl for threatening them with Percy back in September.
Ronnie's mood from that moment became so dour that Halle couldn't even think on her own mood.
Halle wasn't sure how Ronnie had managed to sit through the rest of the lesson with Hermione but she did and when the lesson was over, she stood quickly and exited the classroom, not before barging very hard into Hermione's shoulder, causing the girl to drop her books and quills.
Halle peeled her eyes to Neville for a second who also caught the action and looked back at her. Halle understood what he was saying. He was silently asking if they should go after her.
Halle looked toward Dewei and decided to shake her head after a few seconds.
Angry Ronnie wasn't a pleasant Ronnie and Halle knew that she wouldn't want to hear what she had to say right now.
Halle herself didn't care for Grangers attitude much but barging her was just plain unnecessary and Halle knew she would have to tell Ronnie that. She wanted to at least wait until she was calm and then attempt to hit her with the bombshell of apologising.
She slightly gulped. Ronnie was scary when mad and asking her to apologise to Hermione felt like a death wish but Ronnie was too kind and amazing to act like that, even if Hermione was annoying.
She picked up her own books and put them in her bag before retrieving one book off the floor and silently handing it to Hermione. Hermione took it but before she could give her thanks, Halle walked past her without a word or glance.
She decided that Hermione needed to know that she wasn't being nice either. It was ok to be smart but the girl had talked down to Ronnie and that wasn't ok.
She waited at the door and when Dewei and Neville walked past, she took her side by Neville and followed Dewei out of the class. They didn't have to wait long to see Ronnie. She was further up the corridor leaning against the wall waiting for them with Matt, Freja, Dean, Seamus and Ryan who were all asking her if she was ok.
In the wrong or not, Halle couldn't help but give her a sympathetic smile.
They approached her and Ronnie took her place by them as all of them began walking to their next class. After a moment's silence, Neville broke it.
"Are you alright Ronnie?" He asked almost apprehensive.
"I'm fine." Spat out Ronnie.
"Are you s…."
"She's a nightmare. Honestly. It's leviosa, not leviosarrrr." She mocked exaggeratedly..
Seamus, Dean and Ryan laughed outright whilst Halle saw Matt, Freja and surprisingly Dewei try to hide their laughter at this. At least they knew they shouldn't be laughing but even she almost laughed too. She pinched herself. It wasn't meant to be funny.
Ronnie continued.
"It's not my fault Weasley that you're not capable of doing the spell correctly. Yeah but I'm capable of knocking off your head." Said Ronnie darkly.
"Ronnie…" started Halle.
"You'd think the smartest person in our class, hell maybe even our year would understand why she hasn't got any friends. Especially when she's walking about the place thinking she's better than everyone." Continued Ronnie practically seething.
Before Halle or anyone else could reply to that Halle felt someone barge into her and speed past.
She realised that it was Hermione who was now crying.
Halle glanced at the others who all looked awkward except Dewei who didn't appear to care.
"I think she heard you." Said Halle quietly.
"So?" Said Ronnie dismissing the awkwardness she felt at making someone cry.
"She doesn't have any friends and she needs a massive reality check. People would like her if she didn't act so high and mighty all the time. I'm not going to bow down to her feet because she's smart. I'm smart…ish but you don't see me lording it over you guys do you?" Said Ronnie letting her anger spit out again.
"She does have a point Halle." Said Ryan and Seamus and Dean agreed with him.
"Thank you." Said Ronnie.
"Yeah, but we don't hate her and she's probably thinking that we do right now." Pointed out Neville.
"That's also true. I don't hate Granger, I just think she's a bit much that's all." Said Seamus. Halle had to agree with him but she kept that to herself.
"You guys go ahead and we'll go after her and make sure she's alright. See you in class." Said Freja kindly and pulled Matt off in the direction Hermione had walked in.
"You go Weasley." Said Dewei drawling his voice as he said these words.
The trio and the boys turned to him. This was probably the first time he was acknowledging them without a threat present but Halle had a feeling his next words weren't going to be pretty.
She was right.
"Granger is a know it all and you should make sure she burns for it. Hell, keep up the good work and Phina might feel threatened. Making people cry is her specialty after all." Said Dewei with a self satisfactory smile.
Halle saw Ronnie tense and her glare became almost demonic. Halle took Ronnie's hand into her own and gently squeezed. This seemed to calm the girl a bit.
"Come on let's get to transfiguration before we're late." Said Halle in a soothing voice.
She wanted Ronnie to calm down before she tried to hurt Dewei severely.
When the group all got to class Hermione wasn't there. Matt and Freja were the last to reach the classroom and when Halle caught Freja's eye, she gave a shake of her head.
They hadn't found Hermione.
Hermione didn't turn up to their remaining lessons. She didn't turn up at lunch and they didn't see her in the common room or their dormitory when dropping off their bags.
When the trio and Dewei went down to the feast, she was nowhere to be seen.
Ronnie had calmed down after transfiguration but Halle hadn't talked to her about apologising yet. She knew she needed too but as she entered the great hall, thoughts of Hermione left her mind entirely.
The great hall was covered in grand decorations. Thousands of live bats hung from the ceiling. Large black silky cobwebs hung in the corners of the hall. Orange, white and black pumpkins with very realistic carved faces were littered across all five tables that held candles with different coloured flames inside them. The feast appeared on Golden plates which gave the Hall a golden aura all round.
It was magnificently beautiful.
Dewei who didn't seem that impressed sat down and began to fill his plate with food which like Ronnie had said was grander than ever. The trio did the same sitting near the other first years which was a surprise as Dewei usually sat right at the end of the table but he had sat just a space away from Freja.
Halle chose not to take notice as they took their usual places around him and began filling their own plates, choosing not to rush as they had decided against going to the lake tonight. They would enjoy the feast and resume their practice session tomorrow.
The food tasted amazing. The trio as per usual began conversing whilst Dewei stayed silent. It was about ten minutes into the feast when Halle heard snippets of a conversation.
It was Lavender and the twins. Parvati was telling them how she had found Hermione in the girls bathroom and that she had been crying all afternoon.
Halle turned to Ronnie who was chomping down on a juicy lamb chop. It was now or never. Her hopeful advantage was food. It was possibly the love of Ronnie's life and she was thrilled when she entered the hall so Halle assumed she was in her best mood.
"Ronnie." Said Halle quietly so she didn't attract the attention of the other Gryffindors.
Ronnie looked up from her plate and gave her a smile.
"What's up Hal?" Asked Ronnie curiously.
"Look, I know you're gonna hate me and I'm sorry but I think you need to apologise to Granger." She said quickly as if her statement was the equivalent to ripping off a band aide.
Ronnie looked taken a back for a second before an indignant look came across her face and she put her knife and fork down.
That wasn't good.
Neville looked up from his own dinner with a worried look and Dewei looked up too with a slight smirk.
"You're taking Granger's side?" Said Ronnie, her tone hurt and accusing.
"No! I'm not taking her side. I also think she needs to apologise to you, but you have too as well. She was crying Ronnie." Said Halle quickly.
"That's not my problem Halle. There wasn't one thing that I said that wasn't true and you damn well know it." Growled Ronnie.
"I know and what she said to you was wrong but barging her and mocking her wasn't right either. I'm not surprised she didn't turn up to class. I know how it feels to have people mocking you and being mean to you. I'm not calling you a bully but making others cry isn't the person you wanna be. It'll stick with you no matter how annoying Granger is. I don't want you to be like a snakefoy. Please apologise and you don't have to ever speak to her again and I'll come with you and tell her that she has to apologise too but what you both did was wrong." Said Halle hoping Ronnie didn't lash out at her.
She was close to sweating and it was only her façade that was keeping her face completely straight right now.
"Please?" Begged Halle.
Ronnie's scowl slightly faltered and after a minutes deliberation she stood up abruptly.
Halle and Neville actually winced at the sudden action and Halle for a second thought she might get punched.
"Fine. I'll apologise to Granger but after this you never ask me again or I might sock you in the face. You've been warned." Said Ronnie still annoyed, pointing a stern finger towards Halle's face.
"Deal." Said Halle smiling.
She went to stand but Ronnie raised a hand to stop her.
"You're not coming with me." Said Ronnie fiercely.
"What?" Asked Halle taken aback.
"I'm going to find Granger myself, you're already disturbing my dinner. You don't get to disturb my pride and watch me apologise to the know it all. Where is she?"
Halle told her which bathroom she was in and Ronnie exited the hall.
/
Ronnie's POV:
The fiery red head made her way to the bathroom that Hermione was supposedly in. She couldn't believe she was going to apologise to her, but her best friends words had eaten at her more than she cared to admit and it hadn't felt good knowing that she had made Granger cry even though it should've and she definitely deserved it.
Not even two minutes had passed before she was at the girls bathroom. She had gotten there far too quickly for her own liking.
She took a long pause before quietly opening the bathroom door.
When she stepped in, she knew that Granger was in there. There was a stall closed and she could hear sobs echoing around the room.
She was seriously still crying?
Ronnie took another steadying breath before walking up to the stall and knocking on the door. There was no answer but the sobs halted.
She knocked again and spoke.
"Granger, it's me Veronica. Look I want to talk for a moment. Could you please come out." Said Ronnie trying to sound as civil as possible but the tone came off a bit more deadpan if anything.
"Go away." Said Hermione in a half shout, half sob.
"Fine." Said Ronnie ready to walk out but as she turned on her heel, Halle's words floated around her head as though they were magnified by tenfold.
She sighed uneasily and cursed Halle in her head before turning back and knocking on the stall again.
"Look you might as well come out cause I'm not going anywhere. Unless you want me to hear you sobbing like a baby for the rest of the night." Said Ronnie knowing that would get a rise out of the crying witch.
It did.
The door unlocked and there stood a teary eyed Hermione. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was completely tear stained but anger coursed through her light brown eyes as she stared at Ronnie in disbelief.
Ronnie stood back slightly. She wasn't afraid of Hermione not in the slightest, but if she did try to hit her or hex her, she at least wanted a bit of space to duck or get her own wand ready.
"You're unbelievable, did you know that?" Spat out Hermione as she stepped out of the stall.
"It's not only enough for you to humiliate me in front of half of our house but then you come here and do it some more. Just go away Weasley and enjoy your pathetic little victory. You've seen me crack once and that's all you get." Said Hermione turning her back to her and ready to walk back into the stall.
Ronnie however felt a surge of heat brush through her.
"Oh just like you humiliated me in class today?" Asked Ronnie sarcastically.
Hermione turned back to her.
"And how exactly did I humiliate you? Because I did the spell correctly and you didn't? Insecure much Weasley?" Said Hermione viciously.
Ronnie felt the heat rise in her cheeks.
"Hypocrite much Granger? You're going on about me saying this and that but here you are doing the exact same thing and you don't even realise it. At least I feel bad about it and I'm trying to apologise but you don't even feel bad for what you said. You don't deserve an apology. You walk about the place like you own it, just because you're smart and then wanna call people up on it too and be smug. Freja and Padma are super smart too but they don't go about flaunting it at every opportunity. Forget I came and enjoy your tears." Said Ronnie gratingly as she turned on her heel once again.
"It's so easy for you. You have no idea what it's like to be me, but no you say one thing and everyone thinks it's a laugh. You say one thing and everyone agrees with you. I say one thing and I'm a villain. I'm the outcast. I'm the one that doesn't belong." Said Hermione, her voice becoming hoarse.
Ronnie stopped in her tracks. Her head was telling her to go and leave the girl but her heart was telling her that this was more than just a barge and a few hurtful words.
Ronnie turned back round to face Hermione.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Asked Ronnie not being able to keep the hardness out of her tone.
"Never mind just go. Enjoy your feast and friends." Said Hermione dismissively.
"No. You're clearly taking shots so you might as well explain yourself." Said Ronnie standing put.
"I don't have to explain anything to you!" Snapped Hermione.
"Oh wow! The know it all doesn't want to explain something? That must be a first for you. Congratulations." Said Ronnie being unable to resist making that comment.
"Just go already! Why are you still here?" Cried Hermione and Ronnie saw that fresh tears threatened to fall.
"I told you ding bat. I'm trying to apologise and you're being difficult about it." Said Ronnie through gritted teeth.
"Well you're doing a lousy job at it and I don't want your stupid apology anyway. Your nothing but a spiteful bully. Now go away." Snarled Hermione.
Ronnie felt like she had been slapped in the face. She was far from a bully. She said what she said because it was true.
Ronnie's eyes squinted and she stepped so close to Hermione that the bushy haired girl had to actually step back a little fearful yet still glaring.
"Fine. I didn't even want to apologise to you anyway and if I'm a bully than so are you. You go about this place, looking down on people because your knowledge is superior to others and other than getting physical that's the biggest bullying can get, when you think your better than others. Oh and newsflash Granger. I wasn't even aware you could hear me so everything you heard come out of my mouth wasn't to spite you. It was simply the truth. You hearing it hopefully gives you the reality check you so desperately need." Said Ronnie in a low growl and with that Ronnie turned on her heel and began walking towards the door.
Hermione couldn't help but let the tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheeks.
She felt as though she had been doused in ice cold water.
Before Ronnie even reached the bathroom door, Hermione stepped back into her stall and slammed the door shut.
Ronnie heard the stall door slam but didn't care. She reached the bathroom door and forcefully pulled it open and stepped out of the bathroom and stood outside the door with her eyes shut and her fists clenched for a moment.
She couldn't believe the nerve of Granger. How could someone be so… the thought was interrupted as a pungent Odor filled her nostrils.
She felt like she wanted to be sick. What the bloody hell was that smell?
Suddenly her senses were aware that she wasn't alone either. Ronnie's eyes snapped open and travelled forward.
Mere inches, in front of her was a large, at least 12 foot mountain troll.
Ronnie felt her breath hitch in her throat.
The gigantic troll made a loud grunt as it's beady eyes took in the sight of her and took a step forward that shook the floor beneath her.
Ronnie knew she needed to move now. There was a bit of space between herself and the troll and she knew that if she ran, she could make it past the troll and start to run down the corridor before the troll went to take a swing at her with the large club that it was carrying.
The chance of outrunning the troll was a different story though. Trolls were dumb but they weren't slow.
She knew technically she should chance the idea seeming as help was in the other direction but the thought of getting clobbered by a troll made her fearfully push against the door of the girls bathroom and close it.
Quickly she pounded on the stall door.
"Granger, open the door." Said Ronnie panicked.
"I thought I told you…."
"OPEN THE DOOR NOW!" Screamed Ronnie.
She wasn't sure why she wasn't attempting to hide in one of the other stalls but she assumed that her conscious was trying to help Granger in the most stupidest way possible.
Hermione seemed thrown by the demand but before she could open the door she heard a loud bang vibrate around the room.
Ronnie turned to see half the wall and door of the bathroom come crashing down as the troll began to bend down and enter the bathroom .
"Granger!" Cried Ronnie fearfully.
Hermione opened the door to see the troll stepping fully into the bathroom and her eyes widened in shock.
Ronnie scrambled in and shut the door.
Why was this her plan? What was hiding in a stall going to do against a troll?
No words were exchanged as she and Hermione stared fearfully at one another.
They heard the troll grunting and his heavy footsteps stomping.
Ronnie's heart was pounding.
She hoped that the troll would go away but the footsteps only got closer.
Ronnie looked at Hermione and pointed down towards the gap between the stalls. Hermione understood and slowly got to her knees and began to crawl under. Ronnie proceeded to do the same but either the troll had seen them or heard them cause suddenly they heard the swing of the club hit into the stall they were just in. Hermione and Ronnie couldn't help but scream alerting the troll further to their presence.
The troll swung its club again and hit the second stall. Hermione crawled with speed as she got to the fifth and last stall. Ronnie was on her tail but the debris from the stalls were now cutting into her knees as she crawled into the fourth stall. The troll swung its club down into the third and the troll was going to swing for the one she was in any second now.
Oh god she was going to die. Death by club. What an uncool way to die.
But before she heard the swing of the club, she heard Hermione's shrill voice.
"Hey! Over here!"
Through the gap of the stall Ronnie could see that Hermione had crawled out from the stall and was now stood in the corner of the bathroom. Ronnie saw the trolls feet turn toward the bushy haired girl.
She had distracted it for her.
Ronnie quickly got off her knees and came out of the stall, the other three were completely destroyed.
The troll was now advancing on Hermione.
She had to do something. She could make a run for it and get a teacher but she couldn't leave Granger now.
She had basically just saved her life.
"Great." She muttered.
The troll took a swing at Hermione and she quickly ducked under one of the sinks.
What could she do? A potion? She had several in her robes but which one?
She had four potions on her precisely. A shrink potion and a growth potion. She could try the shrink potion on the troll but a creature of that size, it probably wouldn't work. She could use it on herself but that wouldn't help Hermione and there wasn't enough for them both. She could use the growth potion on herself but how big she could get with a small potion size was undetermined and even then being big wouldn't protect her from the troll it would just make her much more visible and not actually any stronger.
There was her melt potion but her potion's size was not enough for the troll as its feet were ginormous.
Finally there was one of her recent creations, a healing salve. This had taken her the full two weeks to make and it wasn't even an advanced version but the ones she had found in the books in the passageway were much more complicated and longer to make. A healing salve would definitely be useless against a troll.
Her potions were of no use right now.
So a spell was needed but what one? She had only learnt a hand full of charms so far but she couldn't think of one that would prove useful right now.
There was the spells that herself, Halle and Neville had been practicing which were defensive but they only had two down so far and a knock back jinx somehow felt stupid to attempt against a troll. Maybe on the club but the trolls swings were fast and there was no guarantee it would work.
A body bind curse even if she could perform it, probably wouldn't work on the troll. So that left one spell.
The fire making spell.
She grabbed her wand out of her robes and aimed for the trolls head as it begun to lift its club again.
"Incendio" Shouted Ronnie as a jet of flame soared from her wand towards the back of the trolls head.
The troll seemed to grunt heavily and turned to face Ronnie but otherwise it seemed unaffected.
Damn it!
The troll roared and swung its club down toward her.
Ronnie managed to move out the way in time and somehow found herself sliding between the trolls legs. She quickly got to her feet now standing a few feet away from Hermione.
The fire spell hadn't worked, so what else? She could send sparks into the trolls eyes but it might start swinging it's club wildly and hit them.
They needed help or they needed to run. Running was probably the smarter option even though the chances of outrunning a troll were slim but perhaps they'd find help before they were clubbed to death.
"Granger get up. I'm gonna distract it, it's gonna swing for me. I'm gonna duck and we run for the hole capeesh?" Said Ronnie as the troll turned to face them again.
Hermione nodded her head fretfully as she crouched under the sink.
The troll once again lifted the large club in its hand and Ronnie once again took her wand and cast the fire spell directly into the trolls face. It grunted and took its other large meaty hand and wiped its face in discomfort. Ronnie could tell it was getting angrier. When it looked down at them again Ronnie made a dash for the stalls as she yelled out for the troll to follow. He did as he watched Ronnie's movement.
"Ok move now." Shouted Ronnie as she picked up a pipe and aimed it at the trolls head but the pipe missed and hit the wall with a loud clang where Hermione was.
Hermione had edged her way from under the sink but the troll turned at the sound and saw Hermione.
The troll who's club was already in mid air aimed it at Hermione who froze in complete fear and managed to back herself into the wall. Ronnie somehow miraculously managed to sprint past the troll with sonic speed and dived onto the girl.
Both girls crashed to the floor but Ronnie had just slightly been caught in the shoulder by the club causing her to go smashing into the wall head first.
She blacked out but not before hearing an ear piercing scream leave Granger's lips.
/
Halle watched as Ronnie walked out of the hall.
She felt relieved that she hadn't gotten too angry at her. She saw Neville sigh with relief only to become anxious again.
"You don't think they'll fight do you?" He asked Halle nervously.
Halle wanted to bite her lip but forced herself not to, for Neville's sake.
"No. I believe she'll apologise. I'm sure they'll be fine." Said Halle trying to convince herself mostly.
She hadn't been able to tell Hermione that she needed to apologise to Ronnie so she hoped that Hermione had the sense to apologise back to Ronnie if the red head apologised first.
She knew Ronnie would do it but Halle had the strange feeling that something was going to happen. What? she wasn't sure but she couldn't help but think that letting Ronnie go to talk to Hermione by herself was a mistake.
Suddenly the thought of C.S came to her mind. Were they currently at the feast? Were they lurking somewhere around the castle?
'Relax. I'm sure Ronnie's fine.' She thought to herself.
Ronnie was tough and even with only a few defensive spells under her belt she still had her potions. They all did. Not off her list, no those she was still making except for her salve. They had ones from her own personal collection.
Ronnie had insisted that until they had a few more spells ready that they should always carry some. Halle was all too ready to agree. She may of hated the subject but Ronnie's potions sure did get the job done and had saved their lives twice now.
She wouldn't complain about carrying some on her person.
Neville still looked anxious.
"Relax Nev. I'm sure they'll be fine." She said with a sweet smile.
"Yeah, you're probably right. They'll be fine." Said Neville trying to reassure himself.
Halle caught Dewei rolling his eyes. Halle looked around the hall briefly. There was much chatter around the hall as students ate and talked.
Halle decided to push her worrying thoughts aside. She went back to eating her food. Ronnie would come back soon.
Two minutes passed, then five and finally ten before anxiety started to fill the girl again. Why was she so anxious?
Her answer came when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall and announced that a troll was in the dungeons before passing out.
The uproar amongst the hall was instantaneous.
Professor Dumbledore's voice suddenly boomed across the great hall as he commanded for silence and every single child, adult and even ghost stopped in their tracks as silence fell across the hall. All eyes were now on Professor Dumbledore.
Halle was very aware of the raw power that his voice held.
It made her twitch ever so slightly.
"Now, prefects will lead their houses back to your dormitories immediately, all except Slytherin House. You shall wait in the great hall whilst the teachers will follow me down to the dungeons. Head boys and girls, I wish for you to organise your houses and then station yourselves around the hall and stay with the Slytherins. Should danger present itself you all know the correct protocol." Said Professor Dumbledore in a much calmer tone compared to only moments ago.
The teachers suddenly were exiting the hall through another door whilst the the four head students and prefects stood to action.
Ashley Troggin instantly got up at the end of the table and started handing out orders.
"Weasley take centre front. Bagwright take the left, Frost you take the right and Jefferson bring up the rear. You will all walk in pairs or threes. You will walk in single file in your pairs or groups of threes. You will walk orderly and you will not dawdle. You will all make your way straight to Gryffindor tower and you will walk in order by year. First years line up and the rest will follow. Proceed." Ordered Ashley with authority.
Halle saw as the other houses seemed to do the same. She saw Lu who was by the doors as the Slytherins stayed seated. She was keeping a watch by the looks of it.
When the houses were all lined up Lu started making signals to Ravenclaw house first. The prefects who were in the same formation began to leave the hall. When the Ravenclaws were gone. The Hufflepuff's left next. Then finally the Gryffindors.
Halle saw Ashley, the two head boys and Lu now stationing themselves around the hall as Percy led the Gryffindors out of the hall. He and the other Prefects were in their element as they took their formation around the remainder of their house.
Halle and Neville had automatically paired themselves with Dewei solely out of habit than actual need.
"How did a troll get into the castle?" Halle asked Neville.
"I don't know. Trolls are supposed to be stupid. It definitely didn't get in by itself." Said Neville nervously as he looked around the staircase.
Her mind pondered the possibility and her first thought sauntered back to C.S and she startled as a thought hit her.
Ronnie and Hermione. They didn't know.
"Neville! Ronnie and Hermione! They don't know about the troll. We have to go get them." Said Halle frantically.
"But Halle we….."
"The trolls in the dungeons. They should be in the bathroom. What if they walk out and go down to the hall only to find the troll when they could be completely safe in the common room and not possibly get in trouble for not being in the common room." Said Halle quickly.
"Ok, let's get them." Said Neville grimacing.
"Or you could tell a prefect and they could go get them." Said Dewei sarcastically.
Halle knew that Dewei's response was right and made sense but something was leading her to disregard his statement entirely.
"You do it then, but I'm going to get my friend and Granger and make sure they're alright." Said Halle defiantly but why? she wasn't sure.
What was telling her to go to the bathroom?
Something in her gut was practically screaming for her too.
With Neville on her tail, they slowed their pace as the other students walked up the stairs. The sixth year prefect Jefferson didn't see them as they slipped past him and the two were off down the corridor. They turned a corner when they heard someone approaching them. They immediately hid behind a large stone Griffin. For a second she thought it might be Percy or another prefect but she was wrong. It was Snape.
"What's he doing? Why isn't he in the dungeons?" Asked Halle.
"No idea." Replied Neville.
He crossed the corridor before disappearing out of view. Halle and Neville came from behind the stone Griffin and quietly trailed after his retreating footsteps.
"He's heading for the third floor." Observed Halle.
Before Halle could say more, they heard another set of footsteps coming but before they could reach the stone Griffin again Dewei appeared around the corner.
"Zabini!" Halle cried out as her heart beat frantically in her chest. She thought they had just been caught.
"What are you doing?" She asked angrily.
"Making sure you two idiots don't lose Gryffindor the house cup." Said Dewei annoyed.
"Is the house cup more important than two people's safety." Asked Halle irritated.
Before Dewei could answer that question a blood curdling scream stopped them in their tracks.
Halle realised that had come from the direction of the girls bathroom.
Before she could stop herself, her feet were carrying her off towards the scream.
She heard the footsteps behind her and knew Neville and Dewei were right behind her. As they turned the corner they saw the girls bathroom wall and door smashed to pieces.
"HELP!"
That sounded like Hermione.
Halle ran into the bathroom. A horrible stench filled her nose but she ignored it as the sight before her shook her very core.
Out of all the places the troll could be, it was in the girls bathroom.
Halle heard Neville gasp beside her. The troll was huge.
Halle saw Hermione and worse an unconscious Ronnie.
Halle felt her blood run cold. They had to help. She looked around. Dewei was gone. When had he left?
It was just her and Neville.
"Hermione move!" Shouted Halle.
"I can't. My foot." She cried.
The troll seemed to turn at Halle's voice.
"Halle it's seen us. What do we do?" Asked Neville shakily.
"Neville! Ronnie and Hermione are hurt. We need to get them out of here now. I'll distract it and you go for them ok." Commanded Halle.
She saw a long pipe lying in the debris of what used to be toilet stalls. She immediately picked it up and ran for the trolls legs.
It took a swipe at her and missed her by inches. The pipe had a jagged edge on it and Halle took it and poked the troll in its legs. The smell was horrific but her adrenaline had kicked in and she fought past it.
The troll howled in pain and tried to grab at her with its free hand but she was quick enough to dodge the grab and run around his legs and keep poking them.
Neville edged himself to the left of the room and ran past the troll and Halle. He got to Hermione and Ronnie.
His eyes widened as he took in Ronnie's form. She was bleeding from her forehead and Hermione looked white in the face.
"Are you alright Hermione." Asked Neville concerned.
"I think I twisted my ankle. Veronica saved me from getting hit but she got caught by the club in her shoulder." Said Hermione tearfully.
Neville looked back to see the troll still trying to grab at Halle. Hermione wouldn't be able to help but he had to get Ronnie out now.
"Neville come on!" Shouted Halle.
"Her foots twisted!" He shouted back.
"Ok well grab Ronnie first and I'll buy you as much time as possible!" Screamed Halle.
She skirted herself away from the trolls legs and put a hand in her robes, pulling out a clear potion from her pocket.
It was a flash bomb. Ronnie had given her, her last one in her stock. She had told them she would make more soon.
They all had a melt potion on them. Ronnie wanted all three of them to carry these. Both herself and Neville had flash bombs but their last potions differed. Neville carried a smoke bomb whilst Halle had a sleeping draught.
The smoke bomb was the better option but Neville had it, not her. So, she took out her flash bomb and in the most daring and stupidest move she could ever do, she leaped for the troll's club with the bomb tight in her grasp. As she was lifted off the ground, she swung herself from the club to the troll's body, somehow getting on his back.
She climbed as he swatted at her and she grabbed her arms around his shoulders and neck. When she got close enough to his head she closed her eyes and prayed for the best as she took the potion and smashed it on his temple. She closed her eyes as the blinding light flashed across the bathroom.
She felt herself being violently shaken as the troll stomped around and she slipped from the trolls shoulders. She just about managed to hang onto its waste coat.
Why the hell was a troll wearing a waste coat?
Before she could think on it more she heard a voice.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Halle felt a slight pressure as she heard the trolls club hit its own head and suddenly the troll was falling forward. Luckily the trolls boulder like body broke the fall. Dust swept through the bathroom as Halle slid off the trolls back to see Dewei standing there with his wand out, looking angry and shocked.
"Do you still think going to the bathroom was a good idea now?" He said sarcastically as he pocketed his wand and dusted off his robes.
"Is it dead?" Asked Hermione interrupting the tension.
"I don't think so, just knocked out." Said Halle in a shaky voice.
She turned to face them and saw Neville who was holding up a slumped over Ronnie.
"Oh god." Said Halle rushing over.
"She needs to go to the hospital wing now." Said Hermione frantically.
"Zabini hold her." Commanded Neville.
He seemed taken aback by the tone but came over and held Ronnie up.
Neville searched through her pockets until he found a medium sized cylinder jar.
"What is that?" Asked Hermione.
"Oh Neville! Of course! The salve!" Said Halle hopeful.
Neville opened the lid and inside was a thick yellow paste.
"Please work." He said shakily before dipping two fingers into the paste and scooping it onto his fingers.
He then smeared the paste onto the bleeding wound. All four Gryffindors waited with bated breath for something to happen.
And it did.
Suddenly the split skin stopped bleeding and began to sew itself back leaving a very pink scar surrounded by the blood.
"It worked." Exclaimed Halle in relief.
"What about her shoulder?" Asked Hermione.
"Here let me. Neville get tissue to wipe the blood away." Said Halle taking the salve. She unfastened Ronnie's robe and undid her shirt buttons. Under her shirt was a very large purple bruise. Halle scooped the paste and began to rub it on Ronnie's shoulder.
Slowly the bruise began to fade though she would definitely need way more to heal fully. Neville came back and began to wipe the blood off of Ronnie's head until it was all gone.
Suddenly Ronnie began to slowly stir. She grunted in pain as her eyes began to flutter open. As her vision came into focus she noticed Halle and Neville first, then Granger and Finally Zabini who was holding her.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?"
/