Harry Potter and all associated characters and situations are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no claim to ownership.
CHAPTER 13: Halloween 1991 (Pt. 3)
Suddenly, the two were stopped by a noxious stench that almost made them both gag. From around the corner, they could hear a growl, the sound of smashing stonework, and Neville yelling of terror. Harry muttered bitterly under his breath. "'Troll in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know.'"
A few seconds earlier...
Neville washed his face for several minutes, splashing his eyes with the cool water to wipe away the redness where he'd been crying. Then, he stared at himself in the mirror for a long time, as if wondering whether the reflection in the mirror was one he still recognized. Emotionally drained, he headed for the door and opened it, only to find himself staring into the face (well, actually the stomach) of a twelve-foot-tall troll armed with a club. The monster snarled at him.
"Yeah, I guess it's just been that sort of day," Neville thought with a strange mixture of amazement, annoyance and resignation. Then, he dropped down to the floor with a yell of fright, ducking just as the troll reached a meaty hand out for him. The boy scrambled away until his back was against the far wall as he desperately tried to remember any spells he could actually perform that might work against a troll, while the great beast squeezed into the room, ripping out part of the door frame with its huge body as it entered. Neville tried Hermione's fireworks spell, but nothing came out of his wand except a soft pop and two lonely sparks. The troll reached down towards him hungrily ... and then suddenly roared as a blast of fireworks struck its posterior. Angrily, it turned to face its new quarry, Harry and Hermione.
"WINDGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" yelled Harry, and the troll's club flew up over its head and swept around to smash its face. Unfortunately, the troll was surprisingly fast when it needed to be. It threw up an arm and batted the club away and towards Harry and Hermione, who had to duck quickly to avoid it and then were knocked down by falling masonry when it shattered against the wall. Hermione recovered first and started back in with her fireworks. Harry shook off the impact and quickly joined her with fireworks of his own.
Across the room, Neville was shocked at the sight of his two friends who he had so rudely spurned earlier but who were now risking their very lives to save him. Still trying to think of a spell, he looked down at his wand, and he suddenly felt hatred for the useless stick in his hand, the wand that had never chosen him and that he'd never chosen as his own. Then, he looked up at the back of the troll that threatened his friends, and something burned in young Neville Longbottom's eyes that no one would have ever expected to see there. Rage.
Harry and Hermione were still trying to harm the troll or at least frighten it away with fireworks, but the beast was barely slowed down by them. Harry vaguely recalled that trolls had magic resistant skin and didn't think there were any spells remotely possible for a First Year that could harm it. Then, to his amazement, he saw Neville climb up onto a sink and then leap onto the creature's back! With one hand, he grabbed hold of the iron collar around the troll's neck and hoisted himself up over its shoulder. His other hand still held his wand, which, with loud grunt, he jammed up the troll's left nostril. Then, still barely hanging on to the struggling troll with one hand, Neville shifted his grip, and with a scream like a furious berserker in the midst of battle, he shoved the wand another three inches up the monster's nose with an audible "squick."
With that, the troll screamed in agony, and a thin trail of green blood trickled out of the nostril where the wand had been lodged. The troll's thrashings increased, and Neville finally lost his hold, falling hard onto the floor behind the monster. Quickly, Harry flicked his own wand towards the protruding butt of Neville's wand. "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" He pushed with all his magical might and the wand slid another few inches up towards the troll's brain. There was resistance, though – Harry could almost feel the tip of the wand snap and crack against the troll's brain pan. The creature started pounding on the sides of its head in pain.
"HERMIONE! TOGETHER!" he yelled. The young witch raised her wand, and the two cried out in unison. "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" With the sharp sound of cracking bone, Neville's wand shot up the troll's nostril and penetrated its brain. There was a spray of green ichor from the beast's nose. The bellowing stopped instantly, and the monster's eyes rolled back up into its head. Then, the half-ton creature wobbled before falling backwards, straight towards where Neville had landed. In a flash, Harry repositioned himself and cast. "ACCIO NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!" The other boy slid right through the wobbling troll's legs and into Harry and Hermione's waiting arms. The troll collapsed and crashed to the floor with an enormous thud.
Neville then pulled both Hermione and Harry into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm sorry I was such a prat to you two," sobbed Neville. "You two are the best friends a guy could ever have." At that, Harry's eyes got a bit misty as well. He'd never really had friends himself before Hogwarts thanks to the Dursleys, and now, between Hermione, Neville and Theo, he had more and better friends than he'd ever imagined possible.
The bonding session was cut short, however, by a loud shriek in a Scottish brogue. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Behind McGonagall were Snape, Flitwick and a nervous looking Quirrell.
"Well, um," said Harry nervously, "there was this troll. And ... I think we killed it."
Hermione gasped. "Oh, we did, didn't we! I mean, I know we didn't have a choice, but it was still a semi-sentient being!"
Snape, who had walked past them to examine the fallen beast, snorted loudly to register his contempt for Hermione's soft-hearted nature. "Then rejoice, Miss Granger, for your poor innocent victim is not dead. A troll's regenerative powers are second to none. Your ... innovative use of what appears to be Mr. Longbottom's wand as an excerebration tool has placed the troll into a coma. When the obstruction is removed, the damage will heal itself and the troll will return to life no worse for wear." Snape turned towards Quirrel who shrank back from his gaze. "With that in mind, perhaps Professor Quirrel might see to the troll's proper containment. As I recall, you have presented yourself as something of an expert on trolls, have you not?"
"Oh, y-y-y-y-yes, P-p-p-p-professor S-s-s-snape. R-r-r-right away!"
"But what I wish to know, Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom, is what on Earth possessed you to go after a troll in the first place!" McGonagall practically shrieked.
"Well," interjected Harry calmly, while wiping dust and debris off his robes, "to be honest, we weren't actually going after the troll at all. The announcement at dinner was that the troll was in the dungeon, not on the First Floor. However, Neville ... took ill during Charms and was in here when the announcement was made. We just wanted to make sure he was safe."
"It is true, Minerva, that young Longbottom took ill during my class today," said Professor Flitwick. "I allowed him to leave early and did not see him at dinner. I was actually considering sending a prefect to check on him when Quirinus made his announcement. In my distraction, I quite forgot about you, Mr. Longbottom, for which I offer my most sincere apologies."
"That explains Miss Granger's presence, Potter, but the Slytherins were instructed to remain in the Great Hall. What are you doing here?" asked Snape harshly.
"Neville is my friend, sir," said Harry simply. He did his best to ignore the look of contempt that provoked in his Head of House.
"Ahem," interrupted McGonagall. "That's all well and good, but, if I may ask, how did three First Years manage to defeat the troll?!"
"Oh, well, trolls have magic resistant skin, so none of our spells could hurt it. But then, Neville had this absolutely brilliant idea of jamming his wand up the troll's nose, and once he'd inserted the excera-what-Professor-Snape-said tool, we drove it the rest of the way into its brain with the Levitation Charm we learned from Professor Flitwick."
"Oh, good show!" said the Charms professor in an excited voice. "An awareness of the defensive properties of a dangerous creature. A resourceful use of an improvised weapon. And a creative use of a charm you just learned this week. Plus inter-house cooperation! Well done! I think an award of, say, fifteen points a piece seems appropriate. Don't you agree, Severus? Minerva?"
Neither of the two objected (though Harry thought Snape had considered it), and McGonagall said it was time for the three children to return to their dorms. She would conduct Neville and Hermione to Gryffindor tower, while Snape escorted Harry to the Slytherin dungeon. But at that point, Neville stepped forward.
"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall. Before we do that, I need to go to the Headmaster's Office, or really any office with a Floo connection. I need to speak to my Gran. Immediately."
"Mr. Longbottom," replied McGonagall. "It's very late. I know this has been traumatic for you but I think it would be best if you got some rest and then contacted your grandmother by owl in the morning."
"I'm sorry, Professor," said Neville a bit more forcefully, "but I really need to speak with my Gran as soon as possible. Also, I would appreciate it if someone with the authority to do so contacted the DMLE and arranged for a couple of aurors to come to the school so I could make some kind of statement to them."
A silence descended over the room. "Mr. Longbottom," said McGonagall, now with a bit of asperity in her voice. "At this point, there is no evidence that the troll's appearance is anything but an unfortunate lapse in the castle's wards. The incident will be investigated by the Hogwarts staff and if it is determined that the troll was brought into the school intentionally..."
"Professor McGonagall," interrupted Neville, who was now visibly annoyed with his Head of House. "With all due respect – Sod. The Flipping. Troll! I want to speak to my Gran and I want to speak to someone from the DMLE." As he spoke, Neville reached into a pocket and pulled out his Rememberall, which was now perfectly clear of any redness. "Because I have just learned that my great-uncle, Algernon Longbottom, Regent for House Longbottom, has tried to murder me." He glanced at Harry and Hermione significantly before looking back to his Head of House. "Five times."
Harry's eyes widened, while Hermione put her hand over her mouth. "Bloody hell," she whispered.
Despite his exhaustion, the corners of Neville's mouth rose into a faint smile. "Language, Hermione."
The next update is scheduled for May 25th between 4 and 6 pm CST. Unless too much beer flows at my Memorial Day cookout, in which case it may not be until Tuesday morning. Enjoy the weekend, and if you have the chance, thank a veteran.