Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.
Chapter 7 – The Troll
About a week later, Lucy was sitting with Harry and Ron in the Great Hall at breakfast. Hermione was sitting far away from them, as she was still upset about the whole three-headed dog episode.
Lucy was eating some hash browns when the owls started flying in with the mail. She looked up absently, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the six owls carrying one thin package through the air. She was surprised to see that the owls were flying directly towards her and the boys.
The owls dropped the parcel in front of Harry. A seventh owl with a letter landed on the table, and Harry took the envelope from it. He tore it open as the owl flew off again.
"Wow!" he breathed, handing the letter to Lucy and Ron across the table.
The two put their heads together and read the note. It was from Professor McGonagall, stating that inside the package was a broomstick for Harry. And it wasn't just any broomstick, either—
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned. "I've never even touched one."
"Please tell me you'll let me ride it once, Harry," Lucy begged, giving him back the letter, to which Harry nodded.
The three of them wolfed down the rest of their breakfast and hurried out of the Great Hall to unwrap the package up in Gryffindor Tower, as per Professor McGonagall's request.
They didn't get very far, however.
Malfoy was standing at the foot of the marble staircase with Crabbe and Goyle. He grabbed the package from Harry and weighed it in his hands. "That's a broomstick," he stated, tossing it back at Harry. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter. First-years aren't allowed them."
"Shows how much you know, Malfoy," Lucy shot back, glaring at him.
"It's not just any old broomstick," Ron continued smugly. "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy? A Comet Two-Sixty? Sure, Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."
Lucy nodded in agreement.
"What would you know about it, Weasley? You couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snarled. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."
Before Ron could retort, Professor Flitwick appeared next to them. "What's going on here?" he asked. "Not arguing, I hope?"
"Potter's been sent a broomstick," Malfoy replied quickly, smirking at Harry.
"Yes, yes, that's right," Professor Flitwick said, smiling warmly at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is it?"
"A Nimbus Two Thousand," Harry replied, "and it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it."
Malfoy had a look of hatred and surprise on his face. Lucy, Harry, and Ron bid the professor good-bye and swept past Malfoy up the marble staircase.
"Well, it's true," Harry insisted, chuckling. "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall, I wouldn't be on the team—"
"So, I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?"
They turned to find Hermione coming up the stairs behind them, looking angry.
"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" Harry asked, exchanging smirks with Ron.
"Yes, don't stop," Ron added. "It's doing us so much good."
Hermione continued past them, her head held high.
Lucy rounded on the boys. "I hope you're happy with yourselves," she growled. "You could at least try to be nice to her!"
"C'mon, Lucy," Ron reasoned. "She's not exactly nice to us, if you haven't noticed."
"She's not nice to you because you're not nice to her!" Lucy protested. "You've never been nice to her, Ronald Weasley! And you," she continued, glaring at Harry, "don't think that you can get away with being rude, either."
Harry shrugged. "I'm sorry, Lucy," he muttered.
Lucy surveyed both of them for a moment longer before saying, "I'll see you in class," and hurrying away after Hermione.
"HERMIONE!" she shouted when she finally found her.
Hermione turned and waited when she saw Lucy.
"I'm really sorry, Hermione," Lucy said, panting slightly as she caught up to Hermione.
"It's not your fault," Hermione replied.
Lucy noticed that she looked somewhat upset, but when she asked, Hermione waved her off. "I'm fine, really," she insisted.
Lucy shrugged and accompanied her back to the common room.
Once they reached Gryffindor Tower, Hermione excused herself. Lucy frowned after her.
"Lucy!" Sally-Anne waved at her from the other side of the room. Lucy went over to her, and Sally-Anne asked, "What's up? You look frazzled."
"Frazzled, huh?" Lucy repeated with a chuckle. "It's no big deal. Hermione is a bit upset with me, Harry, and Ron because of something that happened last week."
"When you went out after hours?" Sally-Anne asked slyly.
Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know about that?" she demanded.
"I heard the Fat Lady talking about it," Sally-Anne answered. "She and her friend Violet were gossiping about it earlier in the week." There was a pause, and she added, "My sister says that there are no secrets in Hogwarts."
"Well, if all the paintings in the castle run around gossiping with each other, I guess I'm not surprised," Lucy said with a shake of her head. "Anyway, are you ready to go to class? We should probably get going."
"Yeah, I suppose we'd better," Sally-Anne agreed.
With that, the girls left the common room for their first class of the day.
~LJ:TH~
The rest of September and October passed without incident. Lucy and her friends continued to attend their classes and do their homework. Every once in a while, Lucy, Harry, and Ron would speculate on what the three-headed dog was guarding, but they never went back to the third-floor corridor.
When October arrived, Harry began to practice with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The first match would be at the beginning of November, so Oliver Wood—the fifth-year Captain—had the team working very hard while trying to keep Harry's position a secret.
Hermione remained distant with Lucy, especially when Harry and Ron were around, too. This caused Lucy to spend more time with the boys. She felt a bit guilty about it, because whenever she saw Hermione, she thought Hermione looked very lonely.
~LJ:TH~
Halloween arrived, and Lucy was excited. The Weasley twins had told her that on Halloween night, there would be a huge feast to celebrate the holiday. Before that, however, they had to get through a regular day of classes.
The Gryffindor first-years had Charms class first, and Professor Flitwick had an exciting announcement for them.
"Today we're finally going to be practicing Wingardium Leviosa," the professor said when class had begun.
Lucy exchanged a thrilled look with Sally-Anne, who was sitting next to her; the rest of the class looked eager, as well.
Professor Flitwick went on, "I'm going to partner you up, and you'll be practicing with the feather in front of you."
So, he went through the class, pairing people up. Lucy was with Sally-Anne. She noticed, however, that Ron had been partnered with Hermione.
"Oh, no," she muttered to herself. "Please be nice, Ron."
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick continued animatedly. "Swish and flick, remember—swish and flick. Saying the magic words is very important, too—never forget the Wizard Baruffio, who said s instead of f and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
Lucy and Sally-Anne snorted.
The classroom immediately filled with voices saying the incantation, but no feathers went in the air.
Lucy watched as Sally-Anne swished and flicked. "It's moving!" Lucy reported happily. The feather in front of Sally-Anne was quivering slightly, but it didn't raise off the table.
Professor Flitwick, after hearing Lucy's exclamation, looked over and said, "Keep trying, Miss Perks! You almost have it!"
Harry, who was at the table in front of Lucy, let out a shout. He was partnered with Seamus, who had just set their feather on fire. Harry quickly put the fire out with his hat, and both boys looked shocked.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lucy announced, swishing and flicking her wand. The feather jumped up into the air, and then floated back down. "Did you see that? It almost worked!" she said to Sally-Anne, who was smiling and nodding.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron shouted from the table next to Harry's.
"You're saying it wrong," Hermione snapped. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o -sa—make the gar nice and long."
"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron growled back.
Hermione gladly rolled up her sleeves and moved her wand correctly, saying, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather in front of her rose off the desk and flew a few feet above their heads.
Most of the other students stopped to look over.
"Oh, well done!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, clapping his hands together. "Everyone, see here! Miss Granger's done it!"
Hermione beamed proudly, and Ron looked away sourly.
~LJ:TH~
Lucy and Harry were walking with a very grumpy Ron after Charms class ended.
"It's no wonder no one can stand her," Ron was snarling about Hermione. "She's a nightmare, honestly."
Lucy opened her mouth to shout at him when someone pushed between hers and Harry's shoulders and hurried past them. With a jolt, Lucy realized it was Hermione, and she was crying.
"I think she heard you," Harry said slowly, coming to a stop.
"So?" Ron retorted. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."
This was the last straw for Lucy, who turned on Ron immediately. "YOU ARE A ROTTEN, NASTY GREEN TOAD, RONALD WEASLEY!" she screamed at him. "You are going to apologize to her as soon as we get to our next class, got it? Or else I will go to Percy and McGonagall and tell them that you've been harassing her. Besides, she doesn't have no friends," Lucy added angrily. "She's got me." She poked Ron hard in the chest three times as she said her last sentence to punctuate the words.
With that, Lucy turned and ran after Hermione, leaving Ron looking shocked behind her.
Lucy finally caught up with Hermione in the girls' bathroom. Hermione was sitting in one of the stalls, and Lucy could hear her sniffling.
"'Mione?" Lucy asked timidly, knocking on the stall door. "Hermione, are you all right? Ron didn't mean it, you know—"
"Yes, he did," Hermione sobbed from inside, "and it's true!"
"What are you talking about? I'm your friend!" Lucy insisted.
There was a pause, only filled with Hermione's sniffs. Lucy shifted uneasily, because she knew that she hadn't been a very good friend lately. Although Hermione had been stubborn about the three-headed dog incident, Lucy couldn't blame her for not wanting to spend time around Harry and Ron when they were so mean to her. Lucy knew that she could have been there for Hermione more than she had been so far.
"Hermione," Lucy said softly, "I'm really sorry. I know I haven't been a very good friend to you, especially recently, but I'm going to try harder starting now, okay?"
"Okay," Hermione replied in a small voice.
"Are you going to come to class?" Lucy asked.
"No, I don't want to see Ron right now," Hermione answered. "I don't really want to see anyone right now, to be honest. Go ahead without me."
"Okay," Lucy called as she started walking backwards to the bathroom door. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." Then she left the bathroom and hurried to her next class, so she wouldn't be late.
~LJ:TH~
It was time to go to the Halloween feast, but Lucy hadn't seen Hermione anywhere. She was pacing up and down the common room while Harry watched her warily. They were waiting for Ron, so they could go down to the feast together.
"Are you okay, Lucy?" Harry finally asked. He was sitting in an armchair with his arms crossed over his chest.
Lucy sighed before looking at him and nodding. "I just don't know where Hermione is," she explained.
She looked up hopefully as the portrait hole opened, but it was just a couple of second-years returning to put their school things away. Anxious, Lucy decided to check upstairs in their dormitory once more, but Hermione wasn't there, either.
When Lucy rejoined Harry, Ron had shown up. Lucy was still worried about where Hermione was, but Harry and Ron wanted to go down to the feast.
"Please, Lucy," Ron begged, but Lucy glared at him.
"I'm still not speaking to you," she snapped.
The portrait hole opened again, and Sally-Anne entered the common room with a couple of older girls.
Lucy hurried over to them. "Sally-Anne, have you seen Hermione anywhere?" she asked.
Sally-Anne, looking surprised at the intense look on Lucy's face, nodded. "I saw her an hour ago in one of the bathrooms," she replied. "She was crying, but she didn't want to talk to me. She said she'd be down for the feast, though."
Lucy sighed. "Thanks," she said and walked back over to Harry and Ron.
Ron was looking guilty, having heard what Sally-Anne had said.
"Don't worry, Lucy," Harry reasoned. "Hermione's probably already down in the Great Hall."
Lucy shrugged and nodded helplessly. The three of them climbed out of the common room and made their way down to the feast.
~LJ:TH~
When they entered the Great Hall, Hermione was pushed to the back of Lucy's mind. The decorations were fantastic. There were real bats flying over the tables, and the regular floating candles had been replaced by jack-o-lanterns. The food was just as excellent as it had been at the start-of-term feast.
Lucy was enjoying the conversations among her fellow first-years when Professor Quirrell sprinted into the hall between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. Conversations died as the professor stopped in front of Dumbledore, slumping against the head table, and gasped out, "Troll—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know." Then he fainted, crumbling onto the floor.
It took a second, but the whole hall erupted into screams and shouts. There was a loud sound, and everyone fell quiet as Dumbledore let off firecrackers from his wand.
"Prefects," he said, his voice booming across the hall, "lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"
The words were barely out of his mouth when Percy started shouting to the Gryffindors. "Follow me! Stick together, first-years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first-years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"
Lucy hurried down the Gryffindor table with Harry and Ron, a queasy feeling in her stomach; Hermione had never shown up for the feast.
"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked worriedly to Ron as they climbed up the marble stairs in the entrance hall.
"Don't ask me; they're supposed to be really stupid," Ron replied. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."
They continued to follow Percy, pushing through groups of other students.
Harry looked at Lucy, and his eyes widened. He grabbed both hers and Ron's arms. "I've just thought—Hermione," he said.
"What about her?" Ron asked.
"She doesn't know about the troll," Lucy breathed, voicing her fears.
Ron bit his lip, looking anxious. "Oh, all right," he finally said, "but Percy'd better not see us."
The three of them ducked their heads and joined a group of Ravenclaws for a moment. Then they slipped down an empty hallway and sprinted for the girls' bathroom. They turned a corner and—
"Percy!" Ron hissed, pulling Lucy and Harry behind a stone griffin.
Footsteps were coming quickly towards them. They peaked out from behind the statue and saw Snape striding down the corridor. He disappeared quickly around the corner.
"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"
"Search me," Ron replied, shrugging.
Lucy shook her head and took the lead to the bathroom.
"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said from behind her.
Then Ron pulled on the back of Lucy's robes and whispered hoarsely, "Can you smell something?"
Lucy snatched her robes out of his hands, scowling at him, before taking a large sniff. "Merlin, what is that?" she murmured, pulling her robes up around her mouth and nose. "It's disgusting."
Then they could hear a low grunting noise coming from another passage, and there was also the sound of giant feet shuffling along. Ron pointed down the corridor and then pulled on Lucy again to drag her back into the shadows with him and Harry.
Lucy had to put her hand over her mouth to keep the gasp from leaving her throat. There was a huge creature stomping passed them. It was over ten feet tall and had a very lumpy looking body. The smell coming from it became almost unbearable. Behind it, it dragged a huge club along the floor.
The troll looked around as though trying to figure out where to go next. It stopped at a door, peered inside, and then lumbered into the room.
"The key's in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."
"Good idea," Ron replied, shaking slightly.
The three of them edged toward the door. Lucy took a closer look at the door before realizing what room the troll had entered.
"Wait—!" she started, but Harry had already lunged forward. He pulled the door shut and turned the key in the lock.
"Yes!" both boys whooped, turning to run back the way they'd come.
"No, get back here, you idiots!" Lucy shouted after them, but before she could say anything else, a high-pitched scream came from the girls' bathroom the troll had just been locked inside.
"Oh, no," Ron said as he and Harry came to a stop.
Lucy didn't wait for them to make up their minds. She unlocked the door and ran inside. She let out a little yelp at the scene in front of her. Hermione was against the opposite wall, looking very faint. The troll was slowly walking towards her, smashing sinks with its club as it moved.
Trying to think quickly, Lucy picked up a sink tap from the floor and threw it at the troll. The troll paused, and Lucy heard Harry and Ron run into the bathroom behind her. She glanced behind her and at them. "Confuse it!" she commanded. She bent down, picked up a chunk of porcelain that had once been the corner of a sink, and hefted it towards the troll.
This time the troll turned, looking blearily at Lucy, and then started towards her instead of Hermione. Lucy's heartbeat increased, and she stumbled back a few steps as she started to panic.
"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron yelled from the other side of the room, throwing another bit of sink at it.
The troll paused again, looking confused, but Ron had given Lucy the time she needed to run around the troll and reach Hermione.
"Come on, Hermione; we have to move," she said, tugging on Hermione's sleeve. "Hermione—!"
The troll let out an angry roar and lumbered toward Ron.
"Look out!" Lucy screamed at him.
Harry took off running at the troll. He jumped and manage to grab the troll around the neck. In the process of this, his wand went directly up the troll's nose. The troll howled in pain and began stomping around.
Lucy flattened herself against the wall next to Hermione in fear of getting stepped on. "Harry!" she shouted, scared that the troll was going to throw him off. "Harry, hold on!"
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron shouted, his wand out.
The troll's club flew out of its hand, rose up high in the air, and then dropped onto the troll's own head. After swaying on the spot for a few seconds, the troll pitched forward and fell onto its face. The thud made the whole room tremble.
Lucy hurried over to Harry to make sure he was okay.
"I'm fine, honestly," Harry assured her.
"Is it—dead?" Hermione asked in a shaking voice.
"I don't think so," Harry replied. "I think it's just been knocked out."
He went to pull his wand out of the troll's nose as Lucy looked up to Ron. Ron nodded, letting her know he was okay.
"Ugh—troll boogies," Harry moaned, reaching over to the troll's pants and wiping his wand off.
Slams and running footsteps surprised the students out of their shocked states. The four of them looked around at each other, not quite sure what to do next. Before they could make any decisions, Professor McGonagall came bursting into the bathroom, followed by Snape and Quirrell.
Quirrell let out a whimper and sat down on a toilet, a hand against his chest. Snape inspected the troll, while Professor McGonagall took in Lucy, Harry, and Ron. She looked livid.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" she said, her voice shaking with rage. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"
Lucy lowered her head, trying to think of what she could tell the enraged woman in front of her.
"Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me."
Lucy's head snapped back up to Professor McGonagall, who was looking around Lucy and Harry at Hermione.
"Miss Granger!" the professor exclaimed.
"I went looking for the troll," Hermione explained, "because I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them."
A quiet clatter came from Ron's end of the bathroom; he had dropped his wand in disbelief.
"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now," Hermione continued. "Lucy distracted the thing, Harry stuck his wand up its nose, and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to go and fetch anyone—it was about to finish me off when they arrived."
"Well—in that case—" Professor McGonagall looked between the four of them, seeming a bit suspicious before continuing, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl; how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Hermione hung her head in shame. Lucy shared a glance with Harry, and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. Hermione was getting them out of trouble by lying to a teacher; it was too bizarre.
"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," Professor McGonagall continued. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."
Hermione left, her head slightly bowed. Lucy reached out and squeezed her wrist as she passed.
"Well, I still say you were lucky," Professor McGonagall said to the remaining three. "Not many first-years could have taken on a fully-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."
Lucy, Harry, and Ron hurried out of the bathroom and didn't say a word until they were two floors up.
"We should have gotten more than fifteen points," Ron grumbled finally.
"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's," Harry reminded him.
"Professor McGonagall's right, though; we could've all been killed," Lucy reasoned.
Harry shrugged and nodded at the same time.
"Good of Hermione to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry replied.
"She might not have needed saving if someone hadn't insulted her earlier today," Lucy snapped, glaring at Ron. "Then she wouldn't've been in the bathroom at all."
Ron looked down at his feet as he walked. "I'm sorry," he finally said quietly.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Lucy said softly.
They reached the Fat Lady's portrait. "Pig snout," all three of them announced at the same time. The portrait swung open, and they climbed in through hole.
The common room was loud and cramped as all the Gryffindors continued the Halloween feast. However, Hermione was standing near the portrait hole, waiting for them.
There was an awkward silence.
"Thanks," all four of them said at the same time.
Harry and Ron hurried away to grab plates. Lucy grinned at Hermione, and they went to get plates, as well.
After they all had gotten their food, the girls rejoined the boys at one of the round tables. Lucy couldn't help but lean over and hiss in Hermione's ear, "I told you they'd come around." Hermione's cheeks tinged pink as a smile grew over her face, and Lucy dug into her dinner, feeling satisfied that all her friends were now getting along.
~LJ:TH~
A/N: The idea that the portraits gossip with each other and help spread stories around the school is something I wanted to establish very early on in this series. I always wondered how gossip got around the castle so quickly, so I thought that maybe it had help from either the portraits or the ghosts (or both). I also wanted to establish that Sally-Anne is a bit of a gossip herself, which will be seen throughout the series.