It had all begun with the troll that happened to be trapped in the same bathroom as her.

Whether on purpose or by accident, Hermione didn't know, and she didn't have a reason to care anymore. The troll had come and help had come too late. Her screams had gone unheard until they were silenced, or at least she hoped they had been unheard.

She had tried the meagre spells she had learned in the first month of Hogwarts, and even the ones she had only read about in the time since she had learnt she was a witch. Either they failed miserably or the sparks refused to leave her wand, because that was all they ended up being – sparks.

The troll had swung its club over and over. Hermione barely missed most of them and found herself battered with the rest. The bruises just gave her a reminder that she hadn't been killed — yet.

An Alohomora slipped through her mind. With the troll being as big and awkward as it was, there was still a possibility to escape. The teachers should have been alerted; they were taking their time but they had to be on their way. If she couldn't escape herself, they would be able to save her.

The troll swung its club and Hermione dashed towards the door. It took her three tries with her quivering body to get the spell right, but eventually the door clicked open and she slipped out just as the troll's club crashed into the spot she had been standing in.

Hermione didn't see any teachers but she ran all the same. With the troll lumbered behind her, each step seeming to vibrate through her entire body. She didn't know where she was running to, she just took corridors and passageways as she saw them, hoping to get out of sight of the troll. She could ask the portraits wherever she ended up.

Trolls were dumb. They shouldn't have been able to sneak into a castle as well protected as Hogwarts.

It meant that there was someone inside the castle that had both let it in and distracted everyone else. Hermione hated the idea of it, but it couldn't be a student. It had to be one of the staff, or more than one of the staff.

As she panted against a shadowed wall, she wondered what she had gotten herself into by accepting a place in this school of magic. It really was too good to be true.

She'd have to find her way to the infirmary eventually, but until then she could have a moment to catch her breath. Her fractured bones could wait a few more moments; this was a school of magic after all.

Hermione needed to think. She needed to understand the insanity that seemed to be the Wizarding World.

And she needed to figure out exactly how she would fit in this mess.

If she wanted to fit into it at all.


Written for [500 words]

Badass Lyrics Inspire Badass Fics [The girl that was lost. The girl no one saved, with blood on her face; Hermione Granger]

Hogwarts Assignment: First Aid Task 2 – Write about someone needing help