Hermione walked into the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast later than night. She was super excited for the feast, and was even more excited for the pumpkin carving that the Slytherins were doing later that night. Severus had bribed Hagrid to grow Slytherin House nearly 70 pumpkins that were all bigger than Hagrid's head. She saw the rest of the first years sitting towards the front of the hall and practically skipped over to them.
"Hi Hermione," they chorused as Hermione waved.
"Is this the first time that we've been earlier to an event than you? You're still ten minutes early but still," Blaise asked, with a small smirk on his face
Hermione giggled. "I think so. It doesn't happen very often."
"Ah look, it's freckles and gang," Draco said, rolling his eyes and turning to talk to Harry.
"Hello, Hermione," Weasley said. "How's our bushy haired friend?"
"One," Hermione snapped. "I'm not bushy haired. Two, I'm not your friend."
"Oh, but the letter from your parents say otherwise. Your muggle parents have referred to me as your friend, and that you should be nice to me," Weasley said.
"Oh, let me see," Hermione rolled her eyes, and held out her hand impatiently.
Weasley laughed. It was a laugh that made everyone uncomfortable, and Harry and Draco looked up at him, forgetting their conversation.
"Nah, I don't think I will," Weasley said, folding the paper up into a bird.
"I think," he continued, pulling out his wand and dodging out of reach of Hermione's arm. "That this belongs in the fire. Wingardium Leviosa!"
Hermione gasped, her eyes filling with tears as the letter from her parents flew into the fireplace.
"No!" She shouted. She watched the paper burn away as Weasley and his two thugs laughed and walked to the Gryffindor table.
"Hermione," Harry started. "We can tell Sev right away, he can give Weasley -"
"I have to use the loo," Hermione whispered, and walked out of the Great Hall before breaking into a sprint.
She ran as hard as she could, through the crowd of people who were walking towards the Great Hall for the feast. The feast was the last thing on Hermione's mind right now. She wanted to hide. She ran to the girls bathroom near the Transfiguration classroom, went into one of the stalls, shut the door, and started sobbing. How much of an arse could Ronald Weasley be?
Meanwhile, back at the feast, Harry and Draco had no choice but to stay put. Dumbledore has started the feast soon after Hermione left, and just as they were about to go after her. They were very concerned about Hermione. She rarely acted out like that, and really only did when they were at Sev's house when she missed her parents.
"I'm sure she'll join us again soon," Daphne said, trying to calm Draco and Harry, who got angrier the longer they sat.
Harry merely nodded and glared at the Gryffindor table.
Severus sat at the Head Table, his eyes on his snakes. Something was wrong, and Hermione was missing. So was that fool, Quirrel. He noticed Harry glaring at the Gryffindor table and followed his eyes that were trained on one specific table. Of course, that idiot Weasley had something to do with it. Severus knew that something was amiss but for his sake, he could not lose his cool. There were too many eyes in the hall tonight. Plus, he wanted to enjoy his food. Although he never admitted it, Halloween was his favorite holiday. He felt like he blended in well with Halloween, based on his appearance and personality alone. He wanted to enjoy one meal without being interrupted by Dumbledore, or worse yet, Quirrel. Something was off about Quirrel, but he wasn't sure what.
"Severus?" Dumbledore asked. "Is everything alright? You haven't said a word this entire meal.
"To be fair, Headmaster, I rarely say much during meals unless someone talks to me directly," Severus replied with a smirk.
"Ah, Severus, always the quiet one. Tell me, how are your classes going?"
Severus quirked an eyebrow. This man didn't know the answer to this question?
"Well, we have a record for the number of exploding cauldrons so far this year, which is 37, so I think you know the answer to that question, Headmaster. I continue to teach a bunch of dunderheads. I stand by my statement, first and second years should not be brewing potions."
It was at that moment, everything went array.
"TROOOOLL! In the dungeon!" Quirrel screamed, sprinting into the hall. Everyone was staring at him.
"T-t-troll in the du-ungeon. Thought you ought to know, " he said, before passing out.
The students started screaming, and Severus jumped out of his chair, his thoughts on his daughter. Where the hell is she? He raced out the staff door, Dumbledore's commanding voice fading into the background. He sprinted down the hallways and passageways that led to the dungeons, breathing hard. He tore past his office and the potions classroom, making his way towards the portrait hole that led to the Slytherin common room. He breathed the password and ran inside. No one was sitting in the common room. He ran towards the girls loo, and opened the door.
"Hermione?" he called. No response.
He walked across the hall, breathing hard. He opened the door to the girls dormitories.
"Hermione?" Still no response.
He stopped, hearing voices coming down the hallway. He stalked toward the door that led to his chambers, and slammed the door behind him. He needed to find her. Composing himself, he walked out of his chambers and left to check the remainder of the dungeons. There was no troll to be found, so he went back up to the main floor.
"Severus, there you are, " Minerva said. "I just woke up Quirinius. We need to check the dungeons."
"The blasted troll isn't in the dungeons; I just ran through there. I don't want my snakes in harm's way. We must search the rest of the school," Severus said.
"Dumbledore and the others started in the hallways near the dungeons," Minerva replied. "Let's start on my floor on the other side of the school. Trolls aren't stupid, and they can walk."
"Very well," Severus snapped. "Let's get a move on."
The small group quickly walked in that direction, wands out and kept their eyes and ears alert.
"Severus, I'm not hearing anythi-" Minerva said, before they heard a loud crash come from the direction of the classroom.
Minerva put on a burst of speed for her age and ran towards the classroom.
"Alohomora!" She shouted, blasting open the classroom door. The room was empty. She cursed and moved to the next door, which happened to be the girls bathroom that Hermione was in.
Severus and Quirrel followed her, not wanting to leave Minerva to deal with a troll alone. They followed her into the girl's restroom and saw the troll lying on the floor, unconscious. Standing next to the troll were three Slytherin students. Three that he knew very well. His eyes narrowed and his grip on his wand tightened.
"You three!" Minerva shrieked. It appeared she was going to be lecturing them first. "Explain yourselves!"
The three looked at each other and the boys started sputtering an excuse, but Hermione spoke up.
"It's my fault Professor. I went looking for the troll, and thought I could handle it because, you know, I've read all about them. If Harry and Draco hadn't come after me, I'd probably be dead," Hermione said defiantly.
Severus noticed something off about her demeanor though. Her eyes were red, and her body language suggested she was telling a lie, not to mention the shocked look on Harry and Draco's face. Plus, Severus knew she wasn't present for the entire feast. He raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie. Minerva looked from Draco and Harry's faces, who were now nodding vigorously, and to Hermione, who was looking at the floor. Her eyes lingered on Hermione before glancing at Severus. He gave her a short nod.
"Miss Granger, 5 points will be taken from Slytherin for your serious lack of judgement. As for you two, 5 points will be awarded each for helping Miss Granger and for sheer dumb luck. I believe you should go with Professor Snape. By the looks of it, he has some words for you as well. Come, Quirinius," Minerva said, before turning on her heel and walking out of the room, with Quirrel trailing behind.
"My office," Severus said, in a dangerous voice. "Now. I will be along shortly after I clean up after you."
"Sir, I -," Hermione began.
"Granger, I don't want to hear your pathetic excuse. My office, now, or it will be 100 points from Slytherin and a months worth of detention."
Hermione's eyes widened and she left the room, Harry and Draco by her side in an instant. Once they were out of sight, Severus sighed and massaged his forehead. Why must these three always be the troublemakers of his house? He quickly began to repair the bathroom, and within minutes, it was back to its normal state. Severus bound and stunned the troll, so Dumbledore could remove it later. He scanned the room to make sure there was no damage left, and stalked out of the room, robes billowing behind him.
Severus made his way through the halls quickly, his temper obvious. Poor Professor Flitwick had to jump out of his way so Severus wouldn't run him over. As he made his way to the dungeons and to his office, he realized that he had no idea how to handle the situation. If they were regular students, he would just take points and give them a week's worth of detention, but he didn't know how to handle the situation as a father. He paused outside the door, listening to the conversation that was playing out in the chairs in front of his desk.
"Harry, please don't panic, it was my idea to go after Hermione, and it's not your fault about what Ron did," Draco whispered to Harry.
"I shouldn't have run away like I did either, it was just a letter, and Ron was just being an arse about the whole situation," Hermione said, quietly. "I don't think Severus will punish you if we tell him the truth, because you just kinda got dragged into the situation.
Severus glanced inside the room. Harry was fidgeting with his hands and twisting them in a way that looked extremely painful. He was also hyperventilating.
"Sev's gonna kill me, he's going to beat me, I know it, I don't belong here, he's gonna see me as a freak and send me back to the Dursley's house," Harry whispered in between gasps of breath.
It was at that moment that Severus decided to step in. He walked into the room and slammed the door behind him.
"I want to talk to you individually, and I want you three to tell me the truth, otherwise the consequences will be severe," Severus said, placing his hands on his desk and glaring down at the three 11-year-olds before him. "Potter, you first. Follow me."
Harry got up, and continued to twist his hands. He looked at the two kids that he left behind. They gave small smiles of encouragement and nods. He followed Severus into his chambers and stood just inside the door. Severus shut the door.
"Please sit, Potter," Severus said, calmly.
Harry took a seat on the sofa, and looked nervously up at his father.
"I suggest you start explaining. The truth, please, Harry. I will get you a cup of tea so you can calm down."
"Well, Hermione arrived at the feast after all of the first years, and Weasley came up to her. He had a letter from her muggle parents, and I guess she wrote to them about Weasley, because according to him, they had written and said that she needed to be nice to him, no matter what. And then, he made the paper into a paper bird, and made it fly into the fire. Hermione ran out of the room, and we were about to go after her, but then Professor Dumbledore started the feast, and then Professor Quirrel came in yelling about the troll, and Hermione didn't know, so we went after her to find her, because she's my sister, and Draco's friend, and then we found the troll had cornered her. And then, we had to fight the troll because Hermione was really scared. Draco knocked it unconscious with its own club, and my wand got shoved up the troll's nose, and then you know what happened next, you were there," Harry said, all in a few breaths.
"I see," Severus said.
Harry held his breath, terrified of what Severus would say next.
"I appreciate the truth now, but I disapprove of the way you lied to Professor McGonagall. I think you will get a week's detention with me writing lines and scrubbing cauldrons. Please go to the bathroom and clean up your face, before you return to the common room to carve pumpkins," Severus said, handing Harry a cup of tea.
Harry looked up at Severus in surprise.
"You aren't going to beat me?" Harry said, his voice trembling.
"Harry, you remember my rules? I will never strike you," Severus said, calmly.
Harry nodded. Severus motioned for him to head towards the loo, and Harry got up and headed that direction, but not before wrapping his arms tightly around Severus' midsection.
"Thank you Sev," Harry whispered. "And I'm sorry.
Harry quickly left the room, and Severus left to question Draco and Hermione. They both had the same story, were very apologetic, and received the same punishment as Harry. They both lost 5 points each though, because they were the ones with a serious lack of judgement. Harry just got caught up in the unfortunate mix. Severus did not participate in the pumpkin carving that he had planned for his snakes, and instead sat on the sofa with a large cup of firewhisky. What a day. His children and godson had defeated a troll. He laughed at the absurdity of the whole situation, and looked at the clock on the other side of the room. It was almost 11:00. He decided to check on the common room, which was now quiet. He opened the door and glanced around the room. It was empty, except for three children who had fallen asleep on one of the couches in the room. He chuckled to himself, and one by one, carried them back to their beds and tucked them in.