Harry Potter had begun by reading about the magic he could already do. He'd read that "accidental" magic was a misnomer - that it was really "unreplicatable" magic, called an accident to prevent parents from unjustly punishing their children. But there was more to the story - for most children's magic was unreplicatable simply because children were inherently beings of whimsy. What they wanted with all their heart changed from moment to moment, and was impossible to bribe or cajole into the same form again.
Harry Potter knew he was different in this regard - he'd channeled his "accidental" magic through the same path, again and again and again. Quiet, Unnoticeable, Small, Harmless. It was the reason, he often suspected, that Uncle Vernon had not hurt him badly. Had been upset, sure, but had never lashed out with his belt, as he'd often threatened to do.
So when Harry Potter pulled on the magic he knew best, the one he'd been using for years... The Troll stopped, snuffling from side to side, smelling those ripe roast dinners one in each direction.
And, it would have worked, had Harry been alone there.
Unfortunately, Harry had neglected one important detail: Hermione Granger.
When given a choice between two extremely appetizing, but far away goals, a cat will pause and do nothing. So, too, did the Troll - until it smelled Hermione Granger.
The club hit bare inches away from Harry Potter, and he flung himself out and behind the troll. His wand was in his hand, and he had no idea what to do. His mind scrambled, and he tried to cast a Confundus spell. Unfortunately, it did worse than nothing, leaving the troll spinning around with his club, smashing bathroom stalls and leaving Hermione Granger staring at him, - no, at the Troll.
Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy had made it to the third floor corridor, running as quickly as he could, not sparing the breath for shouting. Thus, Severus Snape, slamming a door closed at the end of the hall, glanced up to see his godson running pell mell down the corridor that the Headmaster had promised would lead to an untimely death. Snape had no sooner opened his mouth than Draco had turned around, running as swiftly away from his Head of House as he'd run towards him.*
Severus Snape followed, hot on Malfoy's heels.
"Troll!" Hermione shouted, and Harry suppressed the urge to snap at her, I know that, you twit! Lips compressed, Harry remembered how he'd manage to dodge the beast. It was slow and stupid. Harry braced himself for impact before charging the Troll, laying a punch that he imagined was as good as BA might be able to land. It hit hard, busting Harry's knuckles as the Troll turned around.
"Hermione! Run!" Harry said, dancing out of the Troll's way.
Run she did, "Anti-magic resistant hide..." she said firmly, still working through the problem as Harry danced over shattered bathroom stalls, turning the beast as Harry sped around the bathroom.
"Alohomora!" Hermione Granger said, her voice sounding as firm and crisp as McGonagall's herself. Harry hadn't time to think about what that meant, as he was darting back, turning the other way. It was a good thing he kept moving, as the Troll gave a startled grunt, and flattened yet more bathroom stalls as he fell unconscious.
Harry paused, at that, approached cautiously, giving the Troll a little kick. "Out for the count, it looks like," Harry said with a wide grin. "How'd you do that, Granger?"
"It's resistant to magic, not gravity." Hermione Granger said, and they both collapsed in relieved laughter, tinged with just a hint of hysteria.
Ron Weasley had found his Head of House, and was busy gesturing and attempting (through his exhausted lungs) to be articulate. Minerva McGonagall had eventually managed to decipher danger and fault, and headed swiftly in the direction that Mister Weasley had been pointing, unsure as to what she'd find. Her long, groundeating stride brought her swiftly towards her destination, Ron jogging to keep up.
"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" Snape snapped as he turned round a bend, finding his godson skidding to a halt in front of two Troll feet, a demolished girls' bathroom entrance, and Hermione Granger.
"I'm sorry, sir," Hermione said, "It's all my fault, really. I wanted to see the troll, and these boys just followed to make sure I didn't get in too much trouble."
"Draco?" Severus Snape said gravely, his eyes scanning his heretofore understood godson with a sharpness that they'd never had before.
Before Mister Malfoy could get out a word, Harry Potter jumped onto the Troll's leg, and calmly walked the way down to his foot, before jumping off. "It's my fault he's here." The lack of sir did more than just put Severus Snape's teeth on edge this time - for he had finally realized what Potter was doing. It was active disrespect, the pause that in Snape's detention he'd fill with sir. He was actively disrespecting a teacher in front of other students. It was not to be tolerated.
"You are willing to take his punishment, then?" Severus Snape ground out, his temper, always short, now just eyeblinks from combusting.
"Yes." Harry Potter said, his eyes looking up to meet Severus Snape's.
"What in the world happened here?" Minerva McGonagall said, at last reaching the scene. "And what's this talk of punishment? Severus Snape, you know very well that disciplinary issues not in a classroom setting are my domain for my students."
"Your student has selflessly offered to take the punishment that I would give Mister Malfoy." Severus Snape ground out, "I feel inclined to allow this."
"What punishment?" Minerva McGonagall asked, only to watch in suspension as Snape played with his dinner.
"Oh, I wonder, what punishment should I give for endangering other students, fighting a full-grown mountain troll, and failure to follow orders or to respect one's teachers?" Severus Snape said, and Harry wanted to let his head fall, to look abjectly ashamed of himself.
"It was the right thing to do." Harry Potter said forthrightly, a good deal of him shrinking at putting it like that.
"That will be fifty points from each of you, and you'll all get a detention apiece." Minerva McGonagall said, "That includes Mister Malfoy."
As Snape turned thunderous eyes on her, Minerva McGonagall looked back, unimpressed. "If you like, we can take this up with the Headmaster..." she said archly.
"What you propose is fair, at least." Snape said grudgingly, "Hopelessly inadequate, of course, but fair." Snape sent all the children a look that said plainly, "I'll be watching you" and "You'll pay for this,"
Snape strode away in a swirl of black robes, but that wasn't what had caught Harry's attention. It was the trail of blood on the floor - small drops of it, spattering the way Snape had come.
"Will he be alright?" Harry asked, doing his best to look like an innocent kid, as he bent over the Troll. Quickly he breathed a cleansing spell, erasing the blood from the halls. It wasn't permanent, so Snape would still be trailing blood, but at least people wouldn't realize where he'd come from - the forbidden third floor corridor.
*Draco knows that Severus Snape can't stand having kids run away from him. He needn't even say "follow."
[a/n: Reviews rock my world! I love this chapter.]