Sorry for the wait, I was going through some things. Still am, but that's not important right now. Enjoy the chapter! Thanks as always to Bookhater95 for reading it over and making sure it doesn't suck!
Disclaimer, I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters and this is not a way for me to criticize the books. It's just how I believe the characters would react if they read JK Rowling's brilliant work.
In this chapter: Harry starts his training for Quidditch with Oliver Wood, in Charms they begin learning the levitation charm. Hermione tries to help Ron when they get paired together, but she seems unable to do it without sounding/being condescending. This causes Ron to complain loudly, which she hears. She cries in the bathroom and when a troll attacks the school, Harry and Ron realize Hermione doesn't know and go to save her. In the end they succeed and Hermione gets them out of trouble, resulting in them all becoming friends.
Chapter 10
Hogwarts was split in half.
No not literally, the castle itself was intact. It was the students. The events in chapter nine of the Harry Potter Books (as they were now known) had sparked quite the debate. It went like this: The majority of the Gryffindors were upset over how the duel went down, or didn't. They thought Malfoy was a coward to back out of the duel, and a sneak as well. The majority of the Slytherins, however, praised Malfoy on his cleverness and thought it just bad luck that Potter and his friends didn't get caught. So where do the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws stand? The Hufflepuffs were on the Gryffindor's side. Honor! Integrity! You say you're to duel at midnight, you duel at midnight! Even if it's stupid, your word is worth more than anything. The Ravenclaws, well they couldn't help but think it much smarter of the Slytherin to stay out of it and get his enemy out with just a quick tip to the caretaker.
It lead to many arguments and duels in the hallways, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff vs Slytherin and Ravenclaw. It was unlikely someone could go anywhere without getting hexed just for the house they were in. Which was unfortunate for some. Like those Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs who agreed with the Slytherins and Ravenclaws, and the other way around. And those who had no opinion and was just doing their hardest to stay out of the drama. But then there were those who were in their element, like the Weasley twins.
Hermione would claim loudly for anyone to hear that she was against all of this, but deep down she was enjoying it a little. And it was great practice for Defense. This was worse for the teachers. Dumbledore had not done much to get it under control, mind it had only been a day (yes just a day). Madam Pomfrey had a new hex to undo every minute.
The funniest bit of all of this? Harry, Ron, and Draco cared least of all. It was something stupid they did when they were first years that they didn't even think about anymore. They hardly sat together and had a laugh about it, but all three found the utter chaos their eleven year old idiocy caused to be rather funny. Sure, they took part, a hex here and there, but only because it was fun for them.
Yes, the day was certainly eventful. In fact, it started interesting. Dumbledore had made a speech at breakfast about the Harry Potter Books, which was the first time he addressed them to the entire school.
"As we all know, we are learning quite a bit about a student we know." Cue everyone turning to look at Harry. "And some revelations are quite upsetting. Be that as it may, it is still wrong to send jinxed mail to muggles."
Dumbledore paused for what this stirred at the tables. Some seemed to be a bit lost but most caught on quickly and a few started clapping. Harry sunk down into his seat while Ron explained to Seamus and Dean what they did.
Draco glanced at Pansy, who looked pleased with herself. "You jinxed his aunt and uncle?"
"Yup!" Pansy said popping the P on the word.
"And you didn't include me on hexing muggles, why?" Draco asked.
"Because, idiot, it wasn't about hexing muggles, that was just an added bonus. It was about getting those muggles back for child abuse. And that doesn't mean I like Harry, before you ask, it just means I hate those Dursleys."
"Why wasn't I included?" Blaise asked.
"Because you are not a prefect, and keeping it between all of the prefects gave us the perfect cover if anyone caught us." Pansy said. Draco gaped at her.
"You worked with Weasley and Granger?!" he yelled. Pansy opened her mouth to answer but Dumbledore seemed he let them relish in the news for long enough.
"Quiet, quiet. While there are admittedly some admirable aspects of this feat, such as banding together to stick up for a classmate, I must ask you do not try anything like this ever again. The muggles are defenseless against magic,"
"So it was perfect then." Parvati mumbled. "Seeing as Harry was a defenseless child when they locked him in a cupboard."
"And," Dumbledore continued. "It is against not just school rules but ministry rules as well. If I hear of anything else like this, I will find who did it and they will be punished however their head of house seems fit."
Now, hours later, Parvati was waiting outside of the hospital wing, her wand out and looking around. The doors opened, Lavender stepped out grinning. "Ears are back to normal!"
Parvati shushed her. "Do you want to get hexed again?"
"There's no one else out here." Lavender said, though she took out her wand and looked around again.
"Not yet, but having your guard down is what got you in the hospital wing in the first place!" Parvati said.
"We're not at war, Vati." Lavender rolled her eyes.
"We might as well be!" Parvati said. Both girls jumped as a Slytherin boy came running around the corner, holding his face. He didn't even look at the girls but ran straight into the hospital wing. "See, another casualty."
Lavender snorted.
As they went further into the castle, however, Lavender understood what Parvati meant. It must have gotten worse since she was forced to see Madam Pomfrey, which made sense as most classes were out now. Every hallway there were duelers, or teachers scolding students who were just dueling. The younger students were walking in packs, looking down right terrified. No one's wand was away. Parvati told Lavender that the hourglasses in the entrance hall were all losing gems, everyone was getting points taken off.
"This is ridiculous!" Lavender whispered as they ducked into a classroom to avoid stray spells. "I agree that Malfoy was a prat for nearly getting Harry caught, but should it really cause this much anarchy?"
Parvati then surprised Lavender greatly by turning to her with a big grin. "This isn't about that anymore, not for me at least. It's just great fun!"
Lavender stared at her incredulously. Although she shouldn't have been surprised. Parvati was always more Gryffindor than Lavender. Lavender sometimes wondered if she was even in the correct house.
"Ready?" Parvati called. Before Lavender could say no, Parvati ran back into the hall. Not wanting to be left behind, Lavender was right on her tail. She saw a spell come her way and threw up a protection barrier, before running after the very fast Parvati. When they rounded the corner, wands were pointed at them immediately. Then, Dean and Seamus realized who they were pointing at.
"Stay on alert girls!" Dean grinned, but behind them Lavender could see a Slytherin aiming at them.
"Duck!" Lavender yelled and both boys did at once. "Anteoculatia!"
The Slytherin boy held his head as antlers begun to grow from them. Lavender felt a rush of pride and she now saw what the others were smiling so hard about.
"Let's see who can hex more students by the time we get to the common room!" Seamus said. The others agreed and took off running.
Snape had gotten to his breaking point when he stormed into the headmaster's office. He'd been hit by a stray hex once, and he was entirely done with all of the nonsense. "Sir, you've got to put a stop to this. They've all lost their mind and children are being sent to the hospital wing left and right! And yet, you've done nothing!"
Dumbledore smiled serenely. "It will tire itself out by tomorrow."
"But what about today?" Snape insisted. "You can't seriously be considering letting them run amuck as they are right now."
"I believe it's the most practice the children have had for the real world in years." Dumbledore said getting up. "We all know what lies ahead for them. And it's nothing good, Severus. If this gets their reflexes up, who are we to stop them?"
"The teachers perhaps? We're telling them it's okay to duel in the middle of the hall!"
"Or we're teaching them to be more aware of their surroundings in an intense environment." Dumbledore suggested. "And it's not as though they believe they can get away with it, you and the other professors will do as you must. Point reduction, detention, whatever it is. And by the end of the day, it will be a story for the younger students to exaggerate to future first years in years to come."
It was with gritted teeth that Snape said, "Very well, sir."
Parvati, Lavender, Dean, and Seamus ran into the semi crowded common room panting heavily, all with large smiles on their faces. "I've never had so much exercise in my life." Lavender panted.
"Ew, I'm all sweaty." Parvati made a face.
The common room was bursting with energy, as usual. People telling stories of who they cursed, those who volunteered to go out again to 'defend integrity' or something of the sort. The Golden Gryffindor Trio were in their usual chairs, Hermione looking as if she might have been telling the other two off (but what else was new).
Dean walked over to them and clapped Harry on the back. "We're destroying them out there, thanks for all the lessons, teacher!"
Hermione shushed him at once as Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati made their way to them as well. "There are still people out there who do not know, remember?"
"Well they'll know soon, won't they?" Seamus asked. "With the books?"
Parvati frowned. "That's a good point. What happens to us when Umbridge reads what we've done?"
Ron said, "We'll have Dumbledore on our side. That will help our chances a lot, I think."
"Dumbledore will be on our side?" Seamus asked. "How can you be sure? I mean we were outright breaking the rules."
"We struck a deal with him." Harry said and Ron had a smug smile. "That we can't get in trouble for anything we've done in the past."
Dean looked like Christmas came early. "Brilliant! Who came up with that."
Ron stretched casually, causing Harry to smirk and Hermione to roll her eyes. "Just came to me."
"Right, well we're going to go to our rooms. We thought we'd read chapter ten today." Lavender said referring to herself and Parvati.
As they started to walk away, Seamus called for them. "Why don't we just read together?"
"Sure." Parvati shrugged. They followed Dean and Seamus to the fifth year Gryffindor male dorms, as they couldn't go up the girl's stairs. "Where's Neville?"
Dean and Seamus both shrugged. "Haven't seen him since class." Dean continued.
"So how do you want to do this?" Seamus said sitting on his bed and flipping through the pages of the book. "Perhaps we could read chapter eleven too, as that's available."
"I say we read as much as possible, since we have to get to chapter twelve before Friday so we can read thirteen in class." Dean answered.
"Just one." Parvati said. "Lavender and I want to do some divination reading. We want to be prepared for our next class."
Both girls broke into giggles and the boys looked at each other. "This about the centaur?"
"You don't fancy him, do you?" Seamus asked while making a face.
"Don't be silly!" Lavender said, still giggling. "It's just about wanting to welcome the new teacher in the best way possible!"
"And the fact that he happens to be quite easy on the eyes is just a bonus!" Parvati said, which caused another fit of giggles.
"What about Trelawney. Thought you loved her." Seamus asked.
"We do!" Lavender exclaimed.
"It was awful what Umbridge did to her. Just awful." Parvati said seriously. "But we're just making the best of a situation!"
Both boys looked at each other and shook their heads at their friends. "Well let's get started then." Lavender said.
"Of course." Parvati said after reading the last lines of the chapter. "Of course they became friends after fighting a troll, it would happen no other way. Honestly."
"Good reflection of their friendship, isn't it?" Dean grinned.
"They're all so silly. Fighting a troll? Easy. Saying thanks after it's all done? Now that's the hard part!" Lavender giggled.
"I wouldn't say they all fought a troll, Hermione was bloody useless." Seamus said. "I mean, I like her and all but remind me not to be in a life or death situation with her."
"She was eleven you prick!" Parvati defended.
"And she was brilliant in this chapter." Dean continued.
"I wouldn't say brilliant..." Lavender mumbled. "I mean I don't blame her for panicking when the troll came, hell I'd do the same, but what she did wasn't exactly brilliant..."
"Right, it was just the decent thing to do, I suppose." Seamus said.
"Oh hush the both of you. Give her credit where it's due!" Parvati started but Lavender cut her off, to the black-haired girl's great annoyance.
"I didn't say it wasn't good of her, I'm just saying she wasn't brilliant in this chapter!" Lavender insisted. "I mean, if we're going to talk about who was brilliant in this chapter I'd say it was Ron! Ron at least waited until they were out of immediate danger to freeze up."
"The whole reason they were there was because Ron was so rude." Dean pointed out.
"He didn't say anything we didn't say at the time." Lavender argued. Or that we still say sometimes.
"He just said it at the wrong place wrong time." Seamus finished. "I mean she was being a bit of a know it all."
"If it weren't for Hermione being a know it all Ron probably wouldn't have been able to perform the spell." Dean said.
"I bet this will be a good reflection on how their... er... adventures go in the future." Parvati thought aloud. "Harry doing something 'very brave and very stupid' and jumping right on danger's back, Hermione being the brains and Ron being-"
"The hero?" Lavender suggested.
"The clear headed one." Parvati said. "I'll admit he seemed to be the only one with the closest thing to a plan. But they would have gotten nowhere without Hermione's help at the start of the chapter."
"Why are you defending her so much?" Lavender asked. "You don't even like her."
"I don't dislike her!" Parvati defended herself. "I'll admit I find her very annoying sometimes and she needs to keep some of her opinions to herself. But I don't dislike her. And she lied to a teacher! Maybe we never gave her a chance."
Dean cut in, "I can't even see her lying like that now and she's loosened up quite a bit since then."
"I can't see her doing something like that now either. Although I suppose I can't see her putting together a defense group and outwardly defying a teacher and the ministry's authority either." Parvati admitted. "Shows how much we know our roommate."
"Well..." Lavender said. "I don't know why she couldn't have just told the truth..."
"Why are you working so hard to discredit her?" Dean asked. Lavender shrugged and made no other comment.
"I'm sure she'll prove herself plenty in future chapters." Seamus said. "I just wasn't overly impressed with her in this one."
Dean and Parvati looked at each other and Dean shrugged while Parvati rolled her eyes.
"Locking the troll in the bathroom wasn't a bad idea either." Seamus said. "If only it were a different room."
"I don't know, I feel like the troll could get through the door pretty easily if it banged on it enough with its club," Parvati said and bit her lip.
"Yeah sure, but if it hadn't been the bathroom Hermione was in, the thing probably wouldn't have even noticed it was locked in at first and Harry and Ron would have saved enough time to get Hermione." Seamus explained. "Hermione would probably convince them to get a teacher and tell them where the troll is, and if she didn't the troll would have eventually made enough noise trying to get out that the teachers would know where to go."
"It's just rotten luck it turned out being the girl's bathroom, and the one Hermione was in no less." Dean said. "Honestly, it's a miracle they're not dead."
"They should have gone to Percy... That's what he's there for." Lavender mumbled.
"I can understand why Harry didn't, not sure about Ron though." Seamus said. "I mean, Harry's had to deal with all of his troubles without help from adults all his life. Why would he suddenly stop that habit?"
"Maybe Ron didn't because he didn't want to get in trouble? Or maybe he wanted to prove he could do something without his brother's help." Parvati suggested.
"Who'd want to go to Percy anyway?" Dean snorted. He stood up and pushed his chest out in a pompous manner "Follow me! As long as you follow my orders there's no need to fear the troll! Good to know staying in an orderly line will completely remove the dangers of a violent, twelve-foot troll."
Parvati giggled. "How did the troll even get from the dungeons to the third floor so quick it's first time in the castle? I couldn't make it anywhere in my first year!"
Seamus snorted. "Right, and when they snuck in with the Hufflepuffs, did they not notice they had two new housemates?"
"To be fair, I had no idea who was in my house back then." Lavender said.
"But one of them was Harry Potter and this was just a month after he came out of hiding. I think I would have noticed." Seamus shrugged.
"Yeah in most circumstances but everyone was in a panic." Lavender shrugged.
"And Snape, what's he doing?" Dean asked. "He's no good at making himself not suspicious."
"Tell me about it." Lavender said. "I'd suspect him too."
They were quiet for a bit before Parvati spoke something she'd been wondering for a while. "Do you think if it were us back then... we'd be able to do the same thing they did?"
Dean crinkled his eyebrows in thought. "I don't know, I don't think we'd ever have found ourselves in that situation."
"Well, what if... I don't know... Seamus said the same thing Ron said but about Lavender- and don't act like you wouldn't have!" Parvati accused.
"He wouldn't have because I wouldn't have shown off like Hermione did. No one's denying she's smart, just that she's a bit of a know-it-all." Lavender said.
"Then let's say he says anything that makes you cry," Parvati insisted. "What do you think would have happened?"
Seamus scratched his head. "Well I don't think you would have left Lavender alone in the bathroom, so you'd probably have been in there too. And we're assuming you don't convince her to come down for the feast?"
Parvati simply nodded.
"Well, when the troll came in I can't promise I would have remembered to think of you." Seamus said somewhat guiltily. "I was bloody scared that day. Harry's a damn saint, he didn't even like Hermione back then and he went after her. But let's say I did remember you guys... I'd have..."
"Gone to a teacher." Dean finished. Parvati huffed in annoyance.
"Let's say all of the circumstances added up and we all ended up in that bathroom with the troll the same way the trio did. What do you think would have happened?"
"I'd have played the same role Hermione did, being scared stiff against the wall." Lavender said.
"Er, I'm not sure any of us would have jumped on the ruddy thing's back." Seamus said. "Not even sure how Harry managed that considering how tall the troll was and how small he was back then."
"Maybe it was crouched down. Or maybe he floated a bit without realizing it." Dean shrugged. "I... I would have just been throwing things at it. I didn't know enough spells back then. And since I hadn't mastered Wingardium Leviosa and never had Hermione help me with it that day, I probably wouldn't have thought of that."
Parvati bit her lip as she tried to think of what her role would be but came up with nothing.
"Honestly?" Lavender said. "I think Seamus would have accidentally set the troll on fire."
All of them proceeded to laugh, Seamus while going a little red. "I still don't know how I managed to turn a levitation charm into a blasting one, or whatever I did."
"Harry came to the rescue again, putting it out with his hat." Dean smirked.
"I always forget we're supposed to wear hats." Lavender said. "I usually wear them for a day or two and then they stay tucked in my trunk for the remainder of the year."
"What else even happened this chapter?" Parvati asked. "The troll outshone it all."
"Harry rode his Nimbus for the first time." Dean said. "I don't know how he's such a natural, I think I only just started to get the hang of it last year and that's after loads of practice."
"Yeah there was no adjustment period for him." Seamus said. "He just went on about how easy it is. He didn't think about how uncomfortable it is to sit on a broom for the first time, especially considering our specific equipment down there. He also didn't think about how you have to keep your legs locked on the broom otherwise you fall off, but maybe that part's easier for him if he did a lot of running when he was younger. But it's also bloody hard keeping those things in control!"
"That's why he's a child prodigy." Dean shrugged. "In fact, all of the Gryffindor team were young that year. Wood was the oldest and he was a fifth year. The rest of the team were second and third years."
"Yeah they were a particularly young team." Seamus nodded. "The Quidditch Cup should have been theirs, they were probably the best team Gryffindor had in a long while."
"We know why it wasn't theirs. At least they got it third year. It would have been a shame if they hadn't gotten it ever with how good the team was." Dean said. "Good on Malfoy for being a prat, otherwise Harry wouldn't have joined and the position probably would have been filled by the time he realized he wanted to."
"Yeah, it really did all start with Malfoy. And imagine his face when he saw the broom!" Seamus laughed.
"That's a broom. Good job, mate. Ten points to Slytherin." Dean snorted. "He must have been kicking himself..."
He trailed off when he noticed the unamused looks from the girls. "Oh, remembered us, did you?" Parvati asked.
Dean and Seamus looked sheepish. "Sorry," they said.
"I do have one question about Quidditch." Lavender admitted. Parvati looked at her like she was a traitor. "Oliver said in the book that a game lasted three months, how'd that happen? And how can you know the snitch doesn't fly... out of the country or something?"
"That's two questions." Parvati grumbled.
"Well, the snitch doesn't fly off cause there's a barrier charm around the quidditch field, it can only go so far." Seamus said. "I reckon the three month game was because it got caught on something or stuck somewhere and no one could find it. Or maybe the seekers just sucked."
"Are we done talking about Quidditch then?" Parvati asked.
Dean nodded with a small smile. "Interesting that Harry's already adopted wizard logo, isn't it? He's already calling non-magical people muggles."
"As opposed to..." Seamus prompted.
Dean shrugged. "I don't know. But it took me a while to think of them as muggles because I suppose I still sort of saw myself as one of them, and I never thought of myself as a muggle. But I guess that just shows how much Harry wasn't connected to that world."
"I never had that issue." Lavender said.
"Well of course not, you're a pureblood." Dean said.
"I'm a half blood, I never had any problem with it. But I did find out about magic fairly early on." Seamus thought aloud. "Harry's no normal boy anyway."
"Right. He almost got eaten by a three headed dog and he thinks it's a fun adventure!" Lavender shook her head.
"Well... that is sorta normal for a boy." Seamus smiled almost embarrassingly.
"Not just boys, I'd probably have seen it as an adventure as well had I been there and I lived." Parvati said. "The best stories are the ones where you almost die, right?"
"I'd rather have no stories." Lavender crossed her arms. "Neville being more concerned with never going near the dog again was smart."
"I will say Harry probably wouldn't get into some of the things he gets into if he just left well enough alone." Dean chuckled.
"Exactly." Lavender said.
"But I agree, I'd have found the whole thing great fun after it was all done." Dean grinned.
Lavender roller her eyes. "Well, anyway I think that's about all I have to say on this chapter. We're about halfway through, aren't we? Merlin time's moving fast in this."
"More than halfway, actually, from the looks of it." Seamus said. "Halfway was likely a chapter or so ago."
"Time's probably moving so fast because the book's only talking about the big stuff. The month between Harry's birthday and the day we board the express wasn't mentioned, most of what happens in class after the first day isn't mentioned either." Parvati said. "That's probably how most of the books are going to go."
Seamus held up the fifth and largest book. "A lot must happen in this one."
"Of course." Parvati said. "That's the Umbridge book."
"I just had a thought!" Dean practically yelped. "Do you think we'll read about ourselves getting the books in that one?"
Seamus raised an eyebrow. "If so, I'm not reading the rest. I'd be reading about reading and then eventually I'll be reading about reading about reading. It would never end."
"But are we sure that's even Harry's fifth year?" Lavender asked.
"It's... the fifth book." Parvati said.
"Yeah but there are two other books after it and he's just a fifth year. How do we know it's cut up by year?" Lavender asked. "And if it is, does that mean the books tell the future?"
Dean sighed. "I guess we'll find out."