AN: Told you there'd be a better confrontation with Snape, didn't I?

The following weeks followed much the same pattern. Lessons and homework and studying in the library during the week, exploring the castle and meeting with her friends, both in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, in the weekend. Ron sort of looked jealously on from the sidelines, mostly at Harry to see if he'd change his mind and... what, she wasn't sure, choose him and only him as his friend, the way it had looked he might the first two weeks? He never made a move to join them, or apologise to Harry, and he rebuffed all of Harry's attempts at making up their fight, as long as it looked like he wouldn't give up his friendship with the girls and Neville, which Harry refused to do. Eventually the black-haired boy gave up, figuring that either Ron would get over his grudge at some point or he wouldn't, and there wasn't much he could do about it either way.

Thanks to Hannah and Susan, they found the entrance to the kitchens, where the oddest-looking creatures seemed to be in residence, eager to feed them anything they might want. They had large, bulbous eyes and long ears, and they seemed to be wearing pillow cases, with the Hogwarts crest proudly displayed on them. Donna often returned there, and soon she was on a first-name basis with many of the creatures, who called themselves house-elves.

They also discovered a room that was, for some reason, filled with all sorts of couches – big ones, small ones, lumpy ones and comfortable ones. They arranged the best ones in a circle, so that they'd have a place to hang out with their Hufflepuff friends.

One memorable weekend three weeks after their initial exploration, Donna did get her wish, and quite by accident, too. Although if she was right and Hogwarts was a sentient building, the accident might just have had a cause in the same way that the Doctor rarely ended up where he wanted to go.

On this particular Saturday, it was just Harry, Hermione and herself, as Neville had promised professor Sprout to help in one of the Greenhouses.

They found the way they were going barred by a locked door. This wasn't the first time that had happened, and Hermione had taught the others a simple opening charm that she knew.

Once Hermione opened the door, they went through – and stopped dead in their tracks. Right in front of them stood a dog. And not just any dog, either – it was a huge dog, of a size that made you wonder how they'd got it into this room, what with the comparatively small door. At least, you might wonder that after getting the hell out of there and taking a Calming Draught or two.

And not only that, but it had three heads. Donna counted again. Yes, three heads.

She felt torn in a way she hadn't yet since finding herself on a sunny street in Cardiff. On the one hand, there was Donna, a girl who had perhaps lived through a lifetime, but who was currently still 11 years old and not ready to risk her life, even if she was a Gryffindor.

On the other hand, there was the DoctorDonna, who usually resided in the dark corners of her mind, content to slumber in the place where dreams come from, but woken up now by the adrenalin coursing through her body.

The DoctorDonna won.

"Oh, look at you!" she said, advancing a step. The dog looked taken aback, as much as a three-headed dog can. It was not used to people coming towards it, instead of running the other way, usually screaming.

"You are beautiful! What are you doing here then, gorgeous? Did someone put you here?"

"Donna! What are you doing?" Harry whisper-shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

The DoctorDonna ignored that, still talking to the dog.

"Oh, you're a fiersome one, aren't you? Yes, you need to be running somewhere with lots of open space, not locked up in a draughty old castle. Hey now, I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry! There, that's better, isn't it? There now, you just calm down. You're a bit lonely, aren't you? I can tell."

As the DoctorDonna talked in a soothing voice, she reached up a hand to allow one of the heads to sniff it, ignoring the fact that its teeth were larger than her hand. The beast seemed to waver somewhere between confusion and respect that this tiny creature in front of him was not cowering in fear.

When she started petting him, he suddenly lost the tension he'd been holding. He lowered his body so that she could reach better and scratch more, his huge tail thumping fit to shake the room.

"Those two are my friends, gorgeous. You won't harm them, will you? Look, I have to go now, but I will try and find out who put you here, alright? Get them to give you a little exercise, how's that sound? And I'll come and visit again. Ok now? All good?"

With one last rub she made her way back to the door, dragging Harry and Hermione, both watching with open mouth, with her. She locked the door behind them. As the adrenalin wore off, the DoctorDonna retreated, leaving room again for Donna. The girl blew out a shaky breath and leaned against the wall.

"Donna, what was that?" Hermione asked in a strangled whisper. "You just waltzed in there like it was nothing. What if it had killed you? Or maimed you? Why did you do that?"

Donna took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "I don't know, Hermione. Well, that's not entirely true. I do know, more or less, but it's not something that I am ready to discuss. Just... maybe don't tell people what's there? I mean, you can tell Neville, just not the entire school."

"But..."

"Please, Hermione, leave it. Trust me, please."

She could see the moment Hermione relented.

"Alright then," she grumbled, "but I hope you'll tell us soon. Just... try not to give us a heart attack again?"

Donna grinned. "No promises, but I'll do my best. So, did you two see what I saw?"

"What," answered Harry, "you mean aside from the bloody big dog?"

"Language, Harry!" chided Hermione. "That was a guard dog. It was standing over a trapdoor."

"Ten points to Gryffindor. That means something of value is hidden there, because who in their right mind would lock up a three-headed dog otherwise?

"No, wait, scratch that. Who in their right mind locks up a three-headed dog IN A SCHOOL? Even if there is something of value hidden there, that's like pointing a flashing red arrow to its location."

Harry had a thoughtful look on his face.

"When Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley, he took a package from a vault. Said other than Gringott's, Hogwarts was the safest place to keep something. I think maybe that's what the dog is guarding?

"Makes sense. Come on, let's go. I've had quite enough adventure for one day."

***DNMCY1***

Before they knew it, another two weeks had passed and Halloween was upon them. The day passed relatively uneventfully, other than a feather exploding at Seamus' table. Ron grumbled about Hermione's correction of his pronunciation, but she shrugged off his insults.

Throughout the day, Donna noticed both Harry and Neville being quiet and withdrawn. On their way to the Great Hall after their classes, she linked her arms with the two of them, as she sometimes did.

"Are you two ok?" she asked quietly. "You're both looking a bit peaky. You're not coming down with anything?"

Harry shot her a small smile, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, then he glanced at Neville. "No, I'm fine. 'S just... my parents died on Halloween. Hagrid told me. On Halloween Vold... I mean, You-Know-Who... killed them, and then failed to kill me. I don't really feel like celebrating the day I became an orphan."

Donna nodded in sympathy and turned to Neville. The boy had his shoulders drawn up, but he took a deep breath. "I, uh... I h-have a s-s-... kind of the same problem as... as Harry, but not, uhm. I'd r...really rather not talk about it in the h-hallway."

"Ok, here's an idea. Why don't we hop in quickly to gather some food, and then we can go to the couch room? We can talk about this, or about something else, or even not at all if that's what you want. I just don't think either of you should be alone right at this moment."

Since they'd started using it, the room felt a bit like unofficial headquarters, and it was better than the common room where everybody could overhear them.

Harry's smile became a little bit more genuine. "Yeah, ok. I appreciate it."

Neville only nodded, but he looked a tiny bit better.

As they gathered some of the food in a napkin, they told the others where they were going, to keep them from worrying. Hermione volunteered to go with them, while Hannah and Susan opted to stay in the Great Hall with their house, although not without tightly hugging both boys – who seemed unsure how to handle the physical contact.

Once in the couch room, Donna sprawled out on a two-seater, while Neville and Harry curled up in a one-seater each. Hermione surveyed the scene for a moment, before lifting up Donna's legs and making herself comfortable in that corner of the couch.

"Alright," said Donna. "Neville, do you want to tell us? Or would you prefer not to talk about it?"

Neville was quiet for a while, studying the upholstery of his seat. Donna didn't press him. Eventually he opened his mouth. "Uhm. My parents were attacked... a few days after You-Know-Who was defeated. Some Death Eaters tortured them. They survived the attack, but... their minds were broken, they went insane. They're in St. Mungo's. They don't recognise anyone, except I think they do a bit, they just can't show it. So... I didn't actually become an orphan today ten years ago, but..."

"Today is the run-up to that anniversary." Donna nodded her understanding.

"I keep w-wondering what they w-were doing ten years ago, if they were h-happy in those last days. Did they celebrate? I c-can't ever ask them, even though they're alive."

Harry nudged his foot. "I know what you mean. When I was smaller I used to sit in my cupboard and have whole conversations with my parents in my head, trying to ask them questions. The answers I came up with were never satisfying."

Donna and Hermione stilled at the same moment and looked at Harry. He noticed the sudden attention focused on him and flushed a little.

"What?" He sounded quite defensive, which Donna supposed was only natural with two pairs of wide eyes fixed on him.

Donna was the first to find her voice. "Harry, what... exactly... do you mean when you say 'sit in my cupboard'?" It was the odd phrasing that had drawn the girls' attention. Not many people would choose to sit in a cupboard, let alone claim it as their own.

Harry froze when he realised what he'd let slip. "Uhm. I." His eyes darted around for an escape route for a moment, but Neville had become interested too, sitting up a bit from where he'd been slumping.

Harry took a deep breath, seemingly coming to a decision. "It's... it's not something I like to talk about, but... you're my friends. Right?"

Hermione nodded encouragingly.

"My... relatives... didn't treat me very well. I lived with my mum's sister, aunt Petunia, and she made me sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. It was my room for as long as I can remember, so that was my cupboard.

"Dudley – that's my cousin – was allowed to bully me, and I was punished for doing better than him in school. I was punished for failing, too, so that was a fine balancing act right there. For the longest time, back when I was a child, I thought my name was Freak, because that was all they ever called me. That, and 'boy'. They had to explain to me, when I started going to school, that Harry was my name and I'd be expected to answer to it."

Harry looked nervously at the others, as if he was expecting them to get up and walk away after that confession. Hermione was covering her mouth in shock. Donna was not much better off. She'd had her suspicions that his home life was less than perfect, but she'd had no idea of the extent. And he'd only told them a little part, she was sure there was much more to it.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but... I have to hug you now, if you'll let me," she said. She got up and opened her arms, and when she heard no objection she closed them around him. She smiled when she felt a pair of arms coming up a bit hesitantly. She didn't think the monsters who made a child sleep in the cupboard under the stairs would hug him very often, so he probably wasn't quite sure what to do. That was fine, though. She had loads of time to get him used to frequent hugs.

"That was very brave of you, Harry. Thank you for telling us," she told him when she let go.

Harry blushed. "Didn't feel very brave," he muttered.

"Well it was," Hermione agreed with Donna, "and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

Harry didn't answer her, but his smile was just a little more genuine.

After a while, both Neville and Harry were at least ready to face some more people, even if they didn't really want to brave the crowd in the Great Hall. They decided to go to the common room.

They were nearing a staircase when they suddenly started smelling something terrible, like weeks old laundry mixed with sewage water. A bit further down the corridor, between them and the stairs, came a hulking grey form, dragging a club behind it. It looked a bit like a rock with limbs.

"What is THAT?" Donna asked.

"T...t...troll!" came Neville's unwelcome answer.

Just then it saw them, and a split opened in its round head, showing big and yellow teeth. It seemed to be grinning. It raised its club and charged, much quicker than it ought to be able to. Donna managed to avoid it by diving to the side, as did Neville, but Harry and Hermione had run the other way.

The troll slowed down when its club hit the floor instead of its intended prey. The way to the stairs was clear for Donna and Neville, but neither of them even thought about leaving the other two to fend for themselves.

"Confuse it!" Donna yelled. It might be fast when motivated, but clever it was not.

"Oy! Pea-brain!" Harry yelled, making the troll turn towards him.

"No, this way!" Hermione had found a loose stone and chucked it at its head.

"You are one ugly brute, aren't ya?" Donna followed up her insult with sparks shooting from her wand at the troll's face. It batted at them with its free hand and bellowed in rage. It started swinging its club again, and then Harry did something that Donna thought made the three-headed dog incident pale in comparison. While everyone was yelling at it at the same time, he jumped on the troll's back and jammed his wand into its nose.

"Do something!" he yelled desperately.

Neville was the first to react, swishing and flicking his wand with more conviction than he had ever shown in Charms class. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he cried out.

Donna watched the troll's wooden club rise into the air.

"Harry! Let go!"

The boy was just in time. As he jumped down from the troll's back, the club landed on its head with a resounding crash. For a moment the beast stood swaying, as if it wasn't quite sure what had happened, and then it toppled over. Donna forcibly restrained the hysterical urge to call out "Timber!" There was a time and a place for pop-culture references, and this was neither.

Hermione was just helping Harry to stand up when a bunch of teachers descended upon them. Here comes the cavalry, Donna thought but did not say.

Snape bent over the unconscious troll, and Quirrell clutched his heart and leaned against the wall. A bit useless as a DADA professor, wasn't he? Professor McGonagall bore down on them with a disapproving frown. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?"

Harry and Hermione shuffled their feet a bit, while Neville was still standing with his wand raised, either afraid to make a movement or still not quite believing what he had done.

"You're lucky you weren't killed!" the professor continued. "Why aren't any of you in your dormitories?"

Donna's temper flared. She placed herself squarely in front of her classmates, looking angrily up at McGonagall. She forgot for a moment that she was supposed to be 11 years old – after all, she'd been an adult for far longer than she had been a child – and at the end there, she'd even beaten McGonagall in age.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, what are WE doing? We were walking towards Gryffindor Tower, that's what we were doing! We were almost at the stairs when that thing showed up and CHARGED at us! I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be such a safe school? If getting attacked by a troll while minding your own business is considered safe, I do not want to know what the other magic schools are like!"

Professor McGonagall looked taken aback at the young girl taking her to task. Snape's smooth voice interjected.

"And yet, we are not anywhere on the way from the Great Hall to Gryffindor Tower."

Donna sent him a look that communicated quite clearly how little respect she had for him.

"No sh... kidding, Sherlock," she said, only barely aware enough of her surroundings to know he would make her life even worse if she'd used the word she'd wanted to. "We weren't IN the Great Hall, were we, so it'd be a bit odd if we were on that route."

"And where, pray tell, were you, if not at the Halloween Feast? Did the great Harry Potter think himself too good for such plebeian displays?"

"What is your problem? He lost his parents ten years ago today, and he didn't want to celebrate that. Is that a crime now? We have to be happy and social at all times? If you must know, we were in a room back there that we use to hang out with our Hufflepuff friends, because this school makes it practically impossible to maintain inter-house friendships."

Professor McGonagall took back control of the conversation.

"Yes, well. I may have spoken hastily in my concern. Do you really mean to say that you had no idea about the troll?"

Donna shook her head, calming down a little. "We hadn't heard anything, professor. We were honestly just going from that one room to our common room, we had no clue anything like that was loose in the castle."

"Very well, miss Noble. You get five points each for keeping a cool head in a stressful situation, and an additional ten for taking down a mountain troll – something not many first years would have been able to do, especially without warning."

"Minerva, surely you do not mean to reward them for such blatant disregard for the rules?"

"For fuck's sake, what rule did we break?" Donna muttered, but quietly enough that neither professor paid heed to her words. McGonagall straightened to her full height, just a little bit shorter than the Potions Master, but with such bearing that she seemed to dwarf him.

"We will discuss this in private, Severus."

When she turned back to the children, her eyes softened a bit. "Better get to your common rooms. The Feast is continuing there."

They left the teachers there, Snape's dark gaze boring holes into their skulls until they reached the stairs. They hadn't gone far when Sprout came running up.

"Oh dear, oh dear. There you are, children. Oh, thank Merlin and Morgana that you are safe. Susan and Hannah told me you probably don't know, but there is a troll on the loose in the castle. Be careful, and quickly go to your common room. The teachers are dealing with it."

Donna turned around, and shot a vindicated look at her least favourite professor, who glowered at her. "Thank you, professor, but the troll is no longer an issue. Some of your colleagues don't seem to believe me when I say we didn't know about it. Is it ok if we go now?"

Sprout likewise looked to where McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell were still examining the troll.

"Oh dear," she repeated. "Yes, dearie, do go to your common room. I will make sure everyone knows you are not to blame."

Donna quickly ushered the others away, intent on getting to the common room as quickly as possible before they could be interrupted again.

The silence lasted until they were almost at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione was the first to talk.

"Did that just happen? I feel like I dreamt the whole thing."

Donna laughed. "Don't worry, you get used to it. Pig snout," she told the portrait. She ignored the looks the others were giving each other before following her into the noise of the common room.