"Hmm, it's so boring without Natsu or the others…." Happy muttered, his paw scrunching his feet up. He sat on the window sill placed on the balcony in the main area of the common room, staring out the window. "If Natsu were with me, he'd be sleeping in and his stomach-"

GROWL

Happy jumped forward suddenly from the sound, now upside down resting on the glass. "What was that?! It sounded like Natsu's stomach!" Happy exclaimed, standing up. The next thing Happy saw was a big bulky block falling off the the main couch. "Mmm, five more minutes….." A familiar voice mumbled. "Natsu?!" Happy sprinted down the stairs, and began to shake his cheek.

"Natsu what are you doing here?! Wake up!" Happy pleaded. "Mmm, in a minute…." Natsu slurred, turning to his side. "But Natsu! It's ten already! You've missed first period!" Natsu jolted up in shock, flying his blanket and Happy forward in a shock.

"Gah!" Happy yelled, landing face first. "Oh crap! Professor Flitwick is going to kill me!" Natsu rushed upstairs to grab his uniform. As he rushed out to the balcony, he hopped to put on his pants. "I'm going to get minus a hundred points for this! Happy! Where's my- WOAH!"

As Natus tried to hop into his uniform, he tripped on his loose pants, falling down the stairs in a comedic fashion.

"Ow! Gah! Ooo! Bah!" He wailed as he kept hitting his head on the stairs. "Ow…" Natsu groaned. "Natsu! Are you alright?!" Happy exclaimed, running to his side at once. "No time for that!" Natsu yelled, flinging Happy to the side again. "Gah!" Happy yelled once again.

"Happy, where's my wand?!" Natsu furiously patted himself down searching for his wand. "Here it is!" Natsu patted his hip, as a double check that his wand was in fact there.

Natsu scuttled up and ran over to the fire place, grabbing a few mouthfuls of fire before leaving. "Right! I'm going!" Natsu yelled as he flipped his scarf around his neck, mouth full leaving a groning drooling Happy on the ground.

Natsu skidded down the hall, tripping on his side. He ran straight to the Charms Classroom and burst through the door, panting. "I'm here!" He yelled in a panting rush. He looked around, catching his breath. The classroom was empty. "What…?" He groaned. "Where is everyone?" He gasped.

"Ah, Mister Dragneel. Finally showed up did we?" A shrunken voice called from the desk. As the chair turned, there sat Professor Flitwick. Looking very…..VERY annoyed and very… VERY disappointed.

"Professor Flitwick, I-" Professor Flitwick raised his hand to silence Natsu's excuses. "Minus twenty points for missing my class. Detention this weekend for six hours. Find someone to give you notes on today's class. Go to your next class."

Natsu stood there, dissapointed a bit. He opened his mouth to say something, his index finger pointing up. But then he quickly shut his mouth, sucking his lips in and curled his finger into his fist, before leaving the classroom.

"Great, who am I gonna find to get notes off them…. Guess there's Lucy and Gray. But we're in different classes….Maybe Gajeel? Nah, he'd be hanging out with that Draco kid…. And my roommates don't seem that bright…." Natsu muttered to himself, pushing against the crowd of moving students trying to think of someone who could lend him their notes.

BUMP!

"Oh sorry I-" Natsu turned around to apologize to the girl he just bumped in person who he accidently bumped into, then eradicated a big smile. "Hey Hermione! Can I talk to you for a sec?" Natsu rested his hand on her shoulder, but she only shook it off. "Hm? Hermione? What happened?" Natsu asked, worried for his friend. She replied with silence, and kept on walking.

"I think she heard you."

Natsu turned around, seeing Harry leaning into Ron's ear. Natsu squinted at Ron's face. He looked guilty of something. Lucy stood behind Ron and Harry, shocked at what she had heard. Natsu twisted his face in anger and stormed up to them. He violently grabbed Ron by the shirt and snarled at him. "Did you say something to Hermione to make her upset?!" He yelled at Ron, who was taken completely a back.

"W-What?!" Ron yelled out confused. He held his hands up in defence, not knowing why Natsu was attacking him. "Natsu! What are you doing?!" Harry yelled in confusion, trying to separate Natsu from Ron. "What did you say to Hermione?!" Natsu demanded, shaking Ron by the shirt. "Natsu! Stop it! You're attracting a crowd!" Lucy bursted through the building crowd and pushed Natsu away from Ron. "But he-!"

THWACK!

"Guah!" Natsu suddenly let go of Ron's collar as Gajeel's fist pumped Natsu skull. Natsu's tongue and eyes popped out of his head, the others flinching back at what they had witnessed. As Natsu held his bumping head, his scarf tightened, as if being pulled suddenly. He felt his back skidding against the gravel as he felt his body slam against the floor. "You really are a nitwit you know that?" Gray sighed, pulling Natsu by his scarf. Natsu grabbed his scarf, and squirmed jerkeshly, trying to breath. "You need notes on the lesson today right? Because like an idiot, you missed class." Gajeel said with a no care attitude, following Gray close behind.

Lucy looked at the three boys before turning her attention to Ron. "But he's right. She's in your house right? You should treat her with a lot more respect. I thought Gryffindor was respectful. What I saw…..Was not respect." Lucy scolded, before following her guildmates.

Ron gasped a bit, shocked of what had happened. "Hey Ron! Your uniform!" Harry pointed down at the collar, Ron following his finger. Ron opened his eyes with shock and horror, as he now knew what Harry was referring to. "What in the bloody…?! When did this happen?! Bloody hell! Mum's going to kill me!" Ron cried, thinking of what his mother would say when she sees this. Ron pulled his collar forward, his clean uniform now burnt and smoldered. But not everywhere, oh no.

Only where Natsu grabbed him.

"What were you thinking Natsu?!" Erza yelled at Natsu, sitting very stubbornly in the Fairy Tail Common Room. "I saw everything on the fifth floor. Our purpose is to keep low and NOT to attract attention!" She continued, unamused by his actions. "And speaking of keeping low…"

Erza turned to the three other students and gave them a strict look. All three of them flinched back and sweatdropped at Erza's look. "W-What did we do?" Lucy stuttered, pointing to herself. "The three, no, FOUR of you nearly got us exposed on the third floor!" The three smarter students jolted in realisation in what she was talking about. "Well….uh…" Lucy sighed and rubbed her head.

"Well what were we supposed to do? They were in danger and we saved them! And we're students ourselves, so we can't exactly be seen there either, even though all restrictions were lifted from us." Gajeel reasoned, relaxed. "By releasing your true magic?!" Erza yelled, not as relaxed as Gajeel.

"Now now Erza. They were only doing what they felt was right is all." Mira smiled sweetly, holding both her hands out. "And besides. We'd probably do the same thing if we were in their positions." Levy pointed out. Erza just hummed, and folded her arms. "I suppose… But still. Natsu, you're going to have to apologize to Ron." Erza told him, hands on her hips.

"I agree with Erza. Even though you were standing up for Hermione, it was a bit over the top attacking Ron like that…" Wendy said shyly, looking up from her marking. "Alright… fine." Natsu grumbled, pouting.

"Right, you better get going. Meeting tonight. Be here on time." Erza reminded them, strictly and punctual. "Yeah yeah yeah we know." Natsu sighed, standing up to head to his next class. "Don't forget to apologise to Ron." Wendy called after him as he left the room.

Night fell on Hogwarts, the scarlet torches illuminating the castle. The four students walked into the dining hall together, looking around. "So I'll see you guys around. Natsu, apologise to Ron." Lucy reminded him again, before walking to the Ravenclaw table. "Yeah, I know…" Natsu grumbled, pretty tired of how everyone was reminding him.

Harry was chewing away, thinking about what happened in the morning. He stared at the empty seat, imagining Hermione sitting there, reading. "Where's Hermione?" He asked his friends, a bit worried about her. Neville swallowed his food and turned to Harry. "'Parantly, the other girls found her in the bathroom. She locked herself in one of the stalls, refusing to come out, crying." Neville whispered, before going back to his meal. Harry panned over to Ron with a disappointed look. Ron just shrugged and bit into his food.

A cough came behind Ron, and everyone turned around sharply, to see Natsu standing there. "Hey Ron, I-"

BOOM!

Everyone sharply turned to the sudden bursting of the door. Professor Quirrell ran down the hall, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Troll! Troll from the dungeon has escaped!"

"What?!" Lucy gasped.

"Troll in the castle?!" Gray exclaimed.

"What the hell is up with this castle?!" Natsu muttered.

"First a three headed dog, and now a troll?" Gajeel grumbled in surprise.

He stopped in front of the teachers who had all stood up shocked. "Troll...in the…" Before the Professor could say anymore, he collapsed from exhaustion and fear. As soon as he hit the ground, all the students screamed and scrambled around the hall. Among the mess, Snape slid out the side door in a hurry.

"Silence!" Dumbledore called over the mess, but it didn't calm anyone down. "SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared once again, this time everyone silencing and turning to the headmaster. "All students will follow the Heads to their respective Common Rooms and will remain there until further notice. DO NOT wander out on your own."

"Master Makarov, Master Mavis, did you hear the news about the troll?" Erza telepathically asked her comrades as she ran through the halls. "Yes. I'm examining the door. It's not damaged in any way. Meaning it didn't break out. Someone let it out." Makarov stated.

"Master Mavis, what do you propose to do?" Levy asked, like Erza, running through the halls. "All students stay undercover and go with your houses. Snape is making already his way to the Third Floor to make sure no one will enter. Erza will go help him. Right now the troll is heading to the girls bathroom."

Natsu jolted and stopped in realisation. "Wait, Hermione!" He yelled out. Harry and Ron stopped, catching Natsu's words. "Oh no, Natsu's right! Hermione doesn't know about the troll! We gotta go warn her!" Ron whispered to both of them and ran to get her. "Wait, Ron!" Harry whispered after him, he and Natsu running behind him.

"Natsu?! Are you there?!" Lucy mentally replied. "Damn! We lost his connection." Gray tisked. "He better not do something rash!" Erza muttered angrily, opening the door to the Third Floor. "We'll worry about that later! Right now, we need to focus on the Troll!" Mavis commanded.

As Ron turned the corner, he felt his collar being tugged back and got pulled back behind the wall. "Hey what the-" Natsu covered Ron's mouth with his hand, signalling him to shush. As the three looked around the round corner, they saw a giant shadow sluggishly stomping to the bathrooms.

"Hermione!" The three boys thought together in a worried state.

Hermione closed the stall, wiping her tears. But then she stopped, staring at green warty toes, which she swear wasn't there before. She slowly tilted her head up and widened her eyes at the sight before her. A massive green troll looking down at her. She slowly stepped back, her hands trembling for the stall door. As the troll swung his club up, Hermione entered the stall in time and ducked for cover.

CRASH!

Hermione screamed in fear, the water and splinters of wood flying all over her. "Hermione!" The three boys yelled for her as they ran into the bathroom. "Help me!" She pleaded, crawling through the rubble and wood. The boys looked around, and picked up the pieces of the broken bathroom. "Hey pea brain!" Natsu called out, and the boys proceeded to throw the pieces at his head. The troll slowly turned around and focused at the boys, giving Hermione the opportunity to hide under the basins.

The troll swung back his club, and swung it full force at the boys. Hermione ducked and screamed, as the swing destroyed the basins. The three ducked as the club, just narrowly missing them. As the troll attempted to swing the club another time, Harry took the opportunity to attack the Troll. He jumped on his shoulders then tried to take control by attempting to knock him out. But unfortunately, the troll shook extremely violently, making the boys unable to counter attack.

"Woah woah woah!" Harry yelled out, his body being shaken by the violent ride. Ron and Natsu ducked and weaved as the Troll waved his arms around. Harry then jerked forward, his wand jabbing into the Troll's nose in the process. The Troll yelled out in pain, and grabbed Harry by the legs. He dragged his rider in front and dangled him by the leg.

The Troll swung his club to his head, but Harry managed to avoid it by crunching up. "Ron, Natsu! Do something!" Ron pleaded, continuing to dodge the club. "Do what?!" Natsu called out in a panic. "Anything!" Harry yelled back, doing another dodge. The boys patted their clothes, looking for their wands. "Ah! Crap! I left my wand in the Fairy Room!" Natsu jolted. Ron pulled out his wand and looked at it. He then looked at the club, and had an idea.

"Swish and flick!" Hermione called out, knowing what Ron was thinking. Ron nodded at her. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron chanted. As the Troll swung down again, the club was left hanging in mid air. The green creature looked at his bare hand, and looked around the room for his precious weapon.

Ron then aligned the club with the Troll's head, and cut the spell. The club made contact with a thud, and the Troll landed face first. Hermione came out under the basins and looked at the Troll, gobsmacked at the events that took place. Harry shook his head, a bit light headed from the shaking and blood rushing to his head. He dizzily walked over to Ron and Natsu, looking at the Troll. "Thanks." He simply stated. He then slowly walked over to the Troll, and slowly reached for his wand.

As he pulled it out, a string of green-gooey snot wrapped around the tip of his wand. "Ew….Troll Bogies…" Ron gaged. Harry scrunched his face in disgust and wiped the wand on his robe and put his wand away with Ron.

"Uhh…." Natsu turned around in confusion, and stared at the Troll. The warty being slowly got up. The three other students then turned around and jerked back at the troll stirring awake. "Oh no!" Ron and Harry reached for their wands, but somehow got stuck with their clothing. Hermione patted herself down, but apparently her wand got lost in all the commotion.

The troll let out a big roar and threw a punch at Natsu. "Natsu!" The three kids yelled in fear. But in a surprise, Natsu stopped the fist with his bare hands, equalling the strength of the Troll. The three of them looked on with a surprise look, not sure how an eleven year old would have much strength within him. "Go back to sleep you oversized oaf!" Natsu commanded, as he threw his other fist up and punched the Troll in the mouth shattering its jaw. The grotesque thing flew back and caused a hole in the wall, the Troll balancing from the bathroom and the courtyard below its head.

Natsu turned around and saw the trio with open jaws. "Oh my goodness! What happened here?!" Professor McGonagall gasped as she entered the bathroom, Snape, Quirrell, and the four Fairy teachers behind her. Harry and Ron looked at each other as Natsu quietly stood where he was, and Hermione darting her looks from the boys and the teachers.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer!" McGonagall demanded. It was then Harry noticed that Snape was bleeding from his right leg, as if he had been scratched. He quickly covered his leg, staring intensly at Harry.

"Well, Professor McGonagall, the truth is-"

"It was my fault." Hermione lied, cutting Ron off from his sentence. "Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall stuttered, looking at her confused. "I thought I could take on the Troll. I read all about them and thought I could take it down. But I was wrong. If Harry, Ron and Natsu didn't show up…. I would probably have been dead…." Hermione explained.

"Well, Miss Granger…. It was brave of you to admit it. But fifteen points will be removed for your rash decisions! As for you three…" McGonagall turned her attention to the boys and looked to them quite sternly. "I am very disappointed in you…. However, I admire your determination. Not all First Year students take on a fully grown Troll and live to tell the tale. As such… Five points awarded to you each."

The three of them looked surprised of the verdict, then erupted into a smile, Hermione joining in. "Now, off you go." McGonagall told the children, signaling them to go back to the dorms. Which they obeyed. As Hermione passed Erza, they gave each other a glance, as if suspicious of each other. Hermione was the first to break eye contact, swiftly moving her head forward to follow her friends.

"Now as for us, we must report to Professor Dumbledore. Come along." McGonagall said with a powerful tone, Snape and herself leading the way, leaving Quirrell behind. As they left, the Defense teacher looked at the Troll. Its feet then jerked up, giving the Professor a jump before scuttling out of the room.

"I can't believe you managed to knock out that Troll in one punch!" Ron exclaimed, walking through the door to their Common Room. Natsu chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his head. "Yeah well..." Natsu then looked at Hermione, who was in deep thought. "Hermione? Is something wrong?" He asked her. "It's Professor Scarlet..." She replied. "What about her?" Ron asked, turning around. "Well..." Hermione eyed Natsu, who looked at her confused. "Natsu, can you give us a second? They'll meet you back in the room." Natsu blinked a few times at Hermione's words. "O...kaaay...?" Natsu agreed, as he slowly backed off and headed for the dorms. Once the door slammed, Hermione began to talk.

"She came into my room last night and asked me questions about the trap door on the third floor..." She admitted. Ron and Harry widened their eyes in surprise. "She knew we were there?!" Ron exclaimed, Hermione putting a finger on her lip to shush him. "Did she report you? Or anything?!" Harry asked, unable to control his feelings about this. "That's the thing. She only deducted points from me." Ron and Harry looked at each other confused. "For a teacher who's extremely uptight, that's quite a light punishment for breaking one the most fundamental rules in the school..." Ron said, extremely confused. "Exactly. That's what's bothering me." Hermione confessed, pondering. "Well, what should we do?" Harry asked his friends. "We should keep an eye on her. She seems...different than the other teachers." The other boys nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's been a long night. We should go to bed. Good night guys."

"Night Hermione." They said in sync.

Harry laid in his bed, thinking of the night. Defeating a troll, and a mystery on his hands. To admit, this was quite exciting, but quite scary at the same time. Harry wondered if his whole school career was going to be like this. But little did he know... that tonight...

Was only the beginning of his fight.