I'm not sure if it was just because I had become incredibly busy, with Quidditch three times a week along with classes and assigned work, but it felt like we had only been in school for a few weeks by the time Halloween came along. Ginny had gotten upset with me since my letters were slowing down but luckily she understood and I promised I would try my hardest to write more often. My friendship with Hermione grew more into best friends and I also became a lot closer with Harry and Neville. I had met others from other Houses but I felt like it was harder to bond with them since we hardly had the chance to spend a lot of time together outside of classes.

On the morning of, when Hermione woke me up, the smell of baking pumpkin through the corridors. It certainly got me into the fall spirit. I noticed she was giving me a huge smile and it got me worried. "Happy birthday!" She shouted, giving me a huge hug. "Oh, that's right! It's the 31st. I forgot." I smiled at her, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Hurry up and get dressed! I got you something!" She practically shoved me into the bathroom and slammed the door, only opening it to throw in my robes. I giggled and shook my head before getting ready for the day.

When I got out of the bathroom, there was Syrus laying down playing with a small present wrapped up in an old copy of the Daily Prophet. "I know it's not much but I didn't find out about your birthday until yesterday..." She rushed to explain but I gave her a hug. "Hermione, it's perfect, thank you. How did you even know about my birthday?" I asked her while I unwrapped a book titled, Hogwarts: A History. I looked up at her confused.

"I've already read it plenty. Plus I can easily get a new one during the holidays. I also didn't have time to actually get you a gift... Do you like it?" She asked, unsure. "Hermione, I love it! Thank you! But you never did answer my question."

"Oh! The twins told me during breakfast yesterday morning." I nodded, of course. "Well, let's go eat! I'm starving!" I told her, grabbing her arm and leading her down to the Great Hall after I put my new book on a shelf by my bed.

When we got to the Great Hall, Ron and Harry weren't there but the twins and Percy were. The twins gave me hugs and all three, including Neville and the other Gryffindor first-years who overheard, who were all told by Hermione, wished me a happy birthday. I thanked them before I sat down with Hermione to eat. The two missing boys didn't show up before Hermione and I left for class, waving goodbye to everyone.

To make the day even better, Professor Flitwick had told us that he believed our class was ready to learn to make objects fly. He had put us into pairs to practice with Harry partnering up with Seamus Finnigan, Ron (to his distaste) was partnered with Hermione, and I was with Neville. I was a little frightened, to be honest, but I just reminded myself this wasn't potions and I couldn't end up covered in boils... I hope.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Flitwick reminded us while he sat upon his pile of books near his desk so that he could see us all. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too. Never forget, Wizard Buffalo, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." I slowly inched a little away from Neville, who just gave me a sheepish, but understanding, smile. I looked around the room and noticed everyone was having difficulty. Seamus had ended up getting so impatient that he jabbed the feather with his wand and lit it on fire, but Harry quickly set it out with his hat. "It seems we're going to need another feather over here, Professor..." He muttered.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron shouted, waving his arms around in a weird manner. "Stop. Stop, Stop! You're saying it wrong!" I overheard Hermione snap, causing me to groan and look over at the two. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the gar nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever." He snapped back. I made eye contact with Harry, hoping he'd have an idea what to do, but he just shrugged.

So Hermione rolled up her sleeves and flicked her wand as she said, "Wingardium Leviosa" And the feather floated about four feet from the desk. I applauded her and she gave me a huge smile while Ron just gave me a dirty glare. "Oh well done! Everyone, Miss Granger's done it!" Professor Flitwick cried out, joining in the applause. It took me two tries before I was able to get my feather to float but when I did, Hermione, Neville, and Harry congratulated me while Ron didn't even look at me, which I won't lie did hurt a little but I tried to shake it off. To say the very least, when we left class that day Ron was in a horrible mood so I stayed back with Hermione as we left the class close behind the boys.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her!" I heard Ron shout, but when I went to say something, Hermione held me back. "She's a nightmare, honestly. And Sam hasn't been much better lately." My blood ran cold when he said that. Not so much about me but more so for Hermione. But she sped up, running into Ron as she shoved her way past in tears.

"I think she heard you." Harry quietly pointed out and I shoved my way past them, turning to give them a glare. "You're a real git, Ron. She has friends! I'm her friend! You're just jealous. And Harry, I expected much more from you." I gave them both a disappointed glare and ran after Hermione. After asking a few people where she had gone, I had found her in the girl's bathroom on the first floor.

"Hermione?" I asked when I walked into the bathroom. I didn't get a response but I did hear sniffling coming from the back stall so I went over to it. "Hermione?" I asked again.

"Go away! Didn't you hear? I'm a nightmare!" She cried out and I sighed, placing my forehead against the door of the stall. "Hermione, Ron's a real git, and I even told him so. He didn't even remember my birthday! Plus, you are no nightmare and I enjoy spending time with you. The problem with Ron is... He doesn't really think before he speaks and he gets jealous easily. Can I come in?"

"No..." She whimpered, and I sat on the floor. "Well, whether or not you let me in, I'm staying here with you."

"What about classes?" She tried to reason but I shook my head, even if she couldn't see me. "It's one class. Plus I'd much rather be here with you. Now let me in or I'll crawl under this stall." I threatened, which got a small laugh from the crying girl. "That's so unsanitary!" She told me.

"That shows you just how much I care. Now, are you going to let me in or are you going to force me to crawl on this disgusting floor? Cause I will." I smiled when I heard the click of the bathroom stall door unlocking and opening, revealing Hermione with tears streaming down her face. I pulled her into a big hug, not letting go until she was ready, which was a couple of minutes. We both sat down inside the stall, facing each other.

"Doesn't what he said bother you at all?" I shook my head no. "Not really. We may not be blood, but he's still my brother and I grew up with him and the others. Ron, Percy, and I may not always be nice to each other but that doesn't mean we don't love each other... It stings, sure. But I know if the twins hear what he said, he'll hurt a lot worse than I do." I said, grinning slightly at her.

"What do you mean Percy? Why not the others as well?" I leaned my head back, taking a deep breath. "Well, Percy doesn't like me too much. I'm not sure why, he just never has but I've gotten over it. I'm extremely close with everyone else, especially the twins and even our younger sister, Ginny. Everyone always jokes I'm the missing triplet with the twins." I gave her a semi sad smile. "But that's not the point. The point is, that even the people who care about us and love us can hurt us. Ron will get over it and apologize to you, I know it." We continued to talk about anything and everything that came to our minds, just taking the time to cheer each other up.

Harry's POV

I felt horrible after Hermione and Sam heard what Ron said about them. I didn't even agree but Sam looked so upset and disappointed in me and while it's only been two months, I felt like we had become close friends.

Neither Hermione nor Sam show up for our next class and they weren't seen all afternoon. We had passed by Ron's older twin brothers who had asked about Sam and asked if we had wished her happy birthday yet, to which Ron froze for a moment, before admitting that he had forgotten so we had to hurry and find her, conveniently leaving out that he had insulted her and her friend and that they've been missing since.

"It's her birthday?" I asked him, causing him to groan. "I completely forgot!" To make matters worse, on the way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Ron and I heard Parvati Patil telling another Gryffindor, Lavender Brown, that Hermione was crying in the girl's bathroom with Sam and Sam had told them she wanted to be left alone. When Ron heard that, he looked even more awkward until we walked into the Great Hall where everything was decorated for Halloween. And with that, everything but the sight before us left our minds.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds. Instead of the normal floating candles that were always present, pumpkins floated above our heads with the candles inside fluttering. On the tables lay the normal food we usually ate such as chicken, baked potatoes, and roasted veggies, but for the feast, the school had added vases of various candies. We were happily chatting (while Ron avoided the twin's glances) with others and eating from the gold plates when Professor Quirrell came running into the hall, his turban on crooked and he looked terrified. Everyone went silent at this, now interested in why the DADA professor looked so scared. He ran straight up to Dumbledore, slumped against the table, and cried in between gasps, "Troll! In the dung-eons!" He cried, "Troll! Thought you should know." As he fainted on the floor. Everyone turned to look at each other, worried, and soon you could barely hear anything from all of the noise.

Only when Dumbledore created several loud purple firecrackers from his wand did everyone quiet down. "Prefects," He started and Percy stood up quickly, puffing out his chest. "Lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" He demanded. "And teachers, follow me to the dungeons."

"Follow me!" Percy yelled, completely in his element, "Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders!" Ron snorted at this and I nodded my head, but we listened anyway. "Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a Prefect!"

"How could a troll get in?" I asked Ron as we started to climb the stairs. He just shrugged, "Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid. Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke." He suggested, but I wasn't so sure. As we were weaving through a crowd of students, I realized something that made my blood run cold and I grabbed Ron's arm, stopping him.

"I've just thought- Hermione and Sam." I started.

"What about them?"

"They don't know about the troll!" Ron bit his lip, thinking for a moment. "Alright, but Percy'd better not see us." He told me as we ducked down and joined a group of Hufflepuffs going back the other way, but we were able to split off down a deserted side corridor without being seen and hurried off toward the girl's bathroom Hermione and Sam were in.

"Percy!" Ron hissed, pulling me back and hiding us behind a large stone griffin, but when we looked around the statue, we noticed that it wasn't Percy. It was Professor Snape. We looked at each other confused.

"What's he doing? Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?" I asked Ron. Quietly as we could, we walked to the next corridor once we heard Snape's footsteps fade. "He's going to the third floor," I told him, but he held up his hand, nose in the air slightly.

"Do you smell something?" He asked me, and I did. It was a mixture of smelly old socks and an old public restroom that no one seemed to clean all summer. And that was when he heard low grunting and large stomping footsteps from something with extremely large feet. Ron pointed down the corridor where something huge was heading toward us. Still being as quiet as we could, we shrank back in the shadows and prayed it wouldn't see us. The troll was twelve feet tall with a small bald head and short legs as thick as tree trunks with flat and horny feet. In one of its extremely long arms was a huge wooden club that it dragged on the floor. The smell radiating off of it was impressive. "I think the troll has left the dungeon..."He whispered.

Luckily, the troll stopped by a door and after a moment, he walked inside. "The keys in the lock!" I whispered to Ron. "We could lock it in!"

"Good idea." He agreed nervously. We slowly walked toward the door, mouths dry and our hearts pounding in our ears. I jumped at the door, slammed it shut, and locked it so that the troll couldn't get out. "Yes!" We proudly cheered together. We started to run back up the corridor but stopped when we heard two loud high-pitched screams. Oh no...

"Oh, no..." Ron voiced my thoughts, looking paler than any of the ghosts in the castle. "It's the girl's bathroom!" I cried.

"Hermione!"

"Sam!" We yelled the names in unison as we turned around and ran back to the large door, only pausing briefly before we opened the door. The pounding of my heart was beating in my ears again but I knew I couldn't just leave the girls to risk getting hurt. They were standing huddled together against the back wall, shaking and flinching each time the troll knocked a sink off or slammed his club against a stall.

Samanthas PoV

"Do you smell something?" I asked Hermione once we were able to catch our breaths from laughing so hard. She stuck her nose in the air and flinched when she smelt it as she covered her nose.

"Was that you?" She asked, horrified. "If it was me and I let out a fart that deadly, I'd admit to it. Let me look outside." I whispered, hoping that if it was another girl, they wouldn't hear me say that about them. When I stepped out of the stall, I froze. At the entrance of the bathroom was an incredibly large troll carrying a club almost as long as its arms.

"Well?" Hermione asked, and immediately I turned back toward her and covered her mouth. "Shh! Okay, whatever you do, I need you to promise you won't scream... Okay?" I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice, but obviously failing because Hermione started to tear up, nonetheless, she nodded. "Okay good... We have to be really quiet. There's a troll..." I whispered, taking my hand off of her mouth.

"A troll?" She shrieked. Bad move. I froze, each footstep the troll took shook the entire bathroom until they stopped. When I turned around, the troll was just a few stalls away, looking at us. Hermione and I looked at each other and screamed. The troll took its club and swung at the stall we were in and I forced Hermione to duck, simultaneously pulling her with me and out of the stalls and along the wall where we'd have more room to move. While I did that, I ended up getting hit in the back of the head by a plank of wood that flew at us. As the troll turned toward us, he was smashing the sinks right off the wall, causing Hermione and I both to flinch. I reached back to feel the spot where I had been hit.

"What do we do?" Hermione asked me desperately, her eyes full of fear. I just looked back at her just as scared when I revealed my hand that was soaked in blood. "Sam..." She whispered to me.

"Hermione! Sam move!" We heard a boy's voice yell. Through the troll's legs, we could see Harry yelling while picking up a metal pole and began to bang it against the wall and even Ron was throwing a few pieces of debris. Thankfully, that seemed to help as the troll stopped a few feet away, looking toward the boys confused.

"Help us!" Hermione yelled at them.

"Hey, Pea-Brain!" Ron yelled at the troll, while Hermione and I took the chance of the troll being distracted to crawl and put some distance between us and it. The distraction didnt last long because it noticed us moving and turned around and smashed another sink beside us, making us scream again. "Help!" I screamed at the boys, not fully registering that we were asking the boys to risk their lives to save us.

Just then Harry does one of the stupidest things I have ever seen, which is really saying something when you've grown up with George and Fred Weasley. He pulled out his wand, ran at the troll letting out some sort of war cry, and grab ahold of the troll's club, getting a first-class ride to land on its shoulders. The troll started struggling and attempting to throw Harry off of it but Harry held on, yelling the entre time before he stuck his wand up the troll's nose. "What the fu-" I say aloud. "Run!" Harry yelled at us, but when I tried to pull Hermione with me, she sunk to the floor in terror.

"Come on, Mione... We need to move." I kept telling her, going as far as to get in front of her and hold her face in my hands but she wasn't listening. She was too in shock to hear me or even notice the blood I had accidentally smeared on her face.

"Achoo!" A loud noise echoed, followed by more of Harry's yelling, and by the time I turned around, the troll had Harry hung by a single ankle. "Do something!" He screamed at us but when I went to grab my wand, it wasn't there. Looking around frantically, I saw it directly under Harry, but that was within feet of the troll's feet. I could see Ron whip out his wand but froze. "Hurry up!" Harry cried out again now that the troll was swinging him around. This finally got Hermione out of her daze.

"Swish and flick!" Hermione yelled out and with immense pride I watched Ron yell out, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and the club the troll had been swinging froze in the air. The troll stopped, confused, mid-swing when it noticed its hand was empty. It looked up just as Ron released his hold on the weapon and caused it to fall down right on its face, promptly knocking it out. But with knocking it out, that means the troll let go of its grip on Harry and Harry not so gently fell to the floor.

"Cool!" Ron cheered. Hermione and I slowly got up, anxiously running to the boys and I ran right into Ron's arm to give him huge hug. "Ron you did it! You cast the spell perfectly!" Bhind me, Hermione slowed down by the limp troll, timidly asking, "Is it... dead?" I looked back at it and shook my head at her after seeing its chest rise and fall. "No, it's just unconscious."

I grimaced when Harry pulled his wand out of the troll's snout nose, creating an awful sound. "Ew, troll boogies." He said disgustedly, wiping it off on the troll's pants. Completely avoiding the arm holding his wand, I went over and gave him a huge hug as well just as lots of footsteps came closer. I ran over to get my wand just in case, ignoring the slight dizziness I got from the sudden movement. When I turned around, McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell ran into the room. Quirrell took one look at the troll and let out a loud whimper.

"Oh my goodness!" Professor McGonagall cried out, placing her hand over her chest as she looked around at the destruction of the room and the large knocked-out body in the middle of the room. "Oh no..." I gulped, joining Ron, Harry, and Hermione. I had never seen McGonagall look so angry, not even after Harry and I was caught flying.

"Oh, no is right, Miss Montgomery." Professor Snape told me, giving me a dark stare. "Ex- Explain yourselves, both of you!" Professor McGonagall yelled, pointing at the two boys.

"Well..." They both started. "What it is-" But Hermione cut them off, stepping in front of all of us. "It's my fault, Professor McGonagall." The three of us looked at each other, mouths agape. Ron even dropped his wand in shock.

"Miss Granger?" She asked. "I went looking for the troll. I'd read about them and thought I could handle it. But I was wrong. If Harry, Ron, and Sam hadn't come and found me, I'd probably be dead." Hermione finished with her chin held high, and I gave her a small smile, wincing as the adrenaline started to wear off and the pain in my head built up. I put my hand back to the wound again, hoping it had started to slow down.

"Be that as it may... It was an extremely foolish thing to do. I would expect more rational behavior on your part and I am very disappointed in you, Miss Granger. 5 points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment." The professor chastised and then looked to us three. "As for you three- I just hope you realize how fortunate you are, not many first-year students could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale." Were any even stupid enough to try? I wanted to ask but I bit my tongue and looked at my hand, noticing more blood, but quickly hid my hand behind my back, although when I looked back at the professors, I could see Snape glaring at me, which caused me to look back at McGonagall.

"5 points... will be awarded to each of you..." We all smiled at each other. "For sheer, dumb luck." She turned to walk away but paused, "Miss Montgomery?" I looked up at her, worried she had seen through Hermione's lie. "Yes, Professor?" I asked. "Go straight to the infirmary before you go to your dorm. Do you understand? Take Miss Granger with you to get checked on as well. And boys, if you are not hurt then you will head to Gryffindor tower immediately as students are finishing the feast in their common rooms." She didn't wait for a reply from any of us and walked away with Snape limping behind her, while I stared at her with wide eyes and my mouth open. Only then did the two boys look at me and see I had red running through my hair and down my neck. I know they were about to drill me with questions so I was very thankful when Professor Quirrell stepped forward and pushed us out of the bathroom.

"P- Perhaps you o- ought to go. M- might wake up." He stuttered, and we left the room.

"We should've gotten more than 15 points," Ron muttered to us as we all headed down the corridor.

"10, you mean, when she's taken off Hermione's." Harry corrected. "Good of her to get us out of trouble like that, mid you, we did save her," Ron admitted and I snorted.

"She might not have needed saving if you hadn't insulted us." I playfully glared at him and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... What are friends for?" He dopedly smiled at her, causing her to nod and smile back.

Right before we split off, Ron and Harry called out for me. "Happy birthday Sam! I know it wasn't the best..." I laughed, "Thank you. It wasn't boring, that's for sure. You boys will just have to figure out how to beat a near-death experience next year." We all shared a laugh and some smiled while Hermione and I left to go to the infirmary and Ron and Harry went to the tower, promising to save us some food for when we got back.

"But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Page 179)

Hey guys I want to apologize for putting Perfect instead of Prefect... I just realized it while I was writing this chapter but honestly don't want to go back to search for each one... So please forgive me on that. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. If you did, please like, share, comment, etc, it really would help a lot and mean even more. Also, this is just for those on , newest chapters for this book will be uploaded first on Wattpad with header photos. It's called, "A Feeling (OC x Harry Potter) by IdShipThat96 if you're interested in checking it out there. Thank you!

xx