Chapter 10: Halloween
"Halloween" Flitwick read.
The Golden Trio gulped nervously. Hermione was going to be called out for lying to a teacher, Ron was going to have to deal with the reactions of everyone learning WHY Hermione had been in the bathroom, and Harry was going to have to deal with the fact that it was HIS idea to go get Hermione. Not to mention his action of jumping on the troll's back.
"Or both" Ginny pointed out.
Ginny blushed as the twins sniggered.
"At least one of you had some sense" McGonagall sighed.
"Really?" Sirius asked.
"That changes soon" Harry assured his godfather.
"Thanks Minnie" Sirius said.
"Don't call me that Mr. Black" she said.
Snape prepared his quill for the list of things that didn't match Malfoy's stories.
The younger Weasleys, Arthur, Tonks, and Sirius laughed as Remus and the others teachers stiffened their own chuckles.
"I'll let that one go" Snape said putting down the quill.
"How the bloody hell are you three friends?" Charlie asked.
"Charlie!" Molly scolded.
"It will be explained later" Harry assured him.
"Huh?" the purebloods asked.
"I'll remember to buy some next time I'm in the muggle world to show you" Hermione said.
"You could just go out and get some now. Since time's stopped," Ron suggested.
"Ron! That would be stealing considering we're the only ones who can move freely!" Hermione scolded.
"Besides," Bill added. "I checked last night and we're locked in."
"Where have I seen that before?" Remus asked sarcastically.
"What?" Harry asked confused.
"Your father was always the first to Quidditch practice" Sirius explained. "And by the time the rest of the team was on the field, he was already up in the air. He was that way since his first try-out."
"The best spot" Ginny and Bill said.
"The beater/seeker/keeper is!" Sirius, Fred, George, Charlie, Harry, and Ron argued.
"When did you ever play?" Ron added to his sister.
"Please continue Professor" Ginny said avoiding the question eyeing her mother and brothers wearily.
"What's basketball?" the Weasleys asked.
"Muggle sport" Hermione answered "But with five players and two hoops."
"The spot I usually get" Ron said fondly. Growing up with the sport, he'd grown to love the Keeper position and was hoping to try out for the team this upcoming year now that Wood was gone and there was nothing to cancel the Quidditch Cup.
"He's not!" Sirius gasped realizing what Wood was up to.
He was going to release a Bludger on Harry. Without telling Harry what they did.
Sirius relaxed only a little bit. At least Harry was semi-warned.
"Not bad" Sirius said impressed. "It takes skill to handle a Bludger."
"Thanks. But the seeker is still the best position" Harry said with a smirk.
"Chaser/Keeper/Beater/Exactly Harry!" the Weasleys chorused.
"If only you can learn your school lessons that quickly" McGonagall muttered.
"Would you count what happened second year the worst now?" Hermione mused.
"That wasn't Quidditch" Harry said. "That was a certain someone's incompetence."
"Dare I ask?" Sirius asked.
"Later" Harry said motioning for Flitwick to pick up.
"Too true" the twins sighed.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"I think I'd rather you play for England" Molly told said seeker.
"I like my job" Charlie defended. "Quidditch is fun on the side, but not as a profession."
Harry smiled. He still thought of the castle as his home.
"This ought to be good" Tonks whispered to Remus.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" Molly scolded.
Even McGonagall's eyebrows shot up.
"It's all in the past and everything's forgiven" Hermione spoke up.
"I heard THAT too" Hermione whispered to Ron who was looking very much like Harry had at the mention of the cupboard.
"At least now we know where you were all day" Sprout told the muggleborn witch.
Flitwick paused and then looked at those that hadn't known about the troll.
Remus knew instantly Sirius was beyond worried. After all, typically Sirius would have asked if Snape was at the feast because if not, then Quirrell could have just mistaken Snape for a troll. Either that or mention that the troll needed a potion to deal with the smell or looks.
But Sirius was instead turning dangerously pale as if he KNEW what was going to happen. Remus certainly did.
Harry was going to have a run in with it.
"The troll IS dealt with right?" Remus asked the other professors. "Quickly?"
"Well, it IS dealt with." McGonagall confirmed.
"Shall I continue reading so we can find out just how?" Flitwick asked.
"You mean you don't know?!" Molly and Sirius chorused before looking at each other.
If the teachers didn't know, then that meant that the kids were left to deal with that thing alone.
"Not even Peeves is THAT crazy" Remus said turning to Harry who had his arm wrapped around Sirius as if to remind the godfather that everything turns out okay.
"WHAT?!" Molly and Sirius exclaimed.
"We were just going to the Girl's bathroom to tell Hermione that there was a troll in the castle and we needed to get to the tower" Harry informed them.
"So you two didn't plan on meeting up with it?" McGonagall asked.
Harry started to state that 'contrary to popular belief, I do not have a death wish,' but refrained from saying that as he recalled his roll in the defeat of the Mountain Troll.
"You meet up with it?!" Molly exclaimed.
"Read Professor" Ron begged wanting this over with.
Sirius turned to Snape.
"I was heading off whoever let the troll in to the Third Floor corridor after I realized that it was a diversion" Snape explained to those who didn't know.
"He's telling the truth." Harry said quickly remembering how quickly he had jumped to the conclusion that Snape was heading to the corridor for his own gain.
"Eew" The younger crowd said making a face.
"Sirius. It's okay" Harry whispered to his now dangerously pale godfather.
Remus frowned at the confused looks the teachers were sending Harry and Ron telling the werewolf that it wasn't what they remembered. It had been a good plan, but then incorporate Harry's luck…
It then hit Remus.
The Girl's bathroom.
"That was…" Fred said.
"…too easy" George said as they realized that SOMETHING was up.
Molly gasped as Hermione glared at her two boys.
"Going to a teacher" Molly started.
"The troll would have killed Hermione by then" Ron defended before turning to Harry. "and we didn't need ANOTHER ghost haunting a toilet."
Hermione whacked Ron though knew he had only said that to lighten the mood.
Harry had moved Sirius' arm around him as he attempted to remind Sirius that this had already happened. Luckily, the movement turned Sirius' attention to him. Harry felt Sirius' arm tighten around him.
The Weasleys gasped as they realized just how much danger Ron had been in.
"Now isn't the time to freeze up!" Tonks said.
"What would you have done as a 12 year old with no friends facing a 12 foot troll after reading how vicious they are?" Hermione challenged.
"You were 12?" Charlie asked.
"My birthday's in September." Hermione explained.
"RON!" Molly screamed.
"Right here Mum." Ron said bringing her back to reality.
"What else is new?" Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the teachers chorused.
"Oi!" Harry exclaimed defensively as he leaned into Sirius' embrace for his godfather's sanity's sake.
"Yuck!" the younger crowd exclaimed making a face.
"Nope" Harry said turning to Ron confusing Remus who was watching.
"You can't even do the spell properly!" the twins exclaimed as Ginny watched Harry as if to remind her that he makes it out okay.
The room was silent as everyone turned to Ron.
"That's one way to beat a troll" Ron attempted some light humor.
Fred and George then turned to each other and paled.
"EWWWWWW!" they chorused.
"Took you two long enough to figure it out" Harry laughed.
"What happened?" Ginny asked.
"Well, after we got back to the common room, I started cleaning my wand." Harry explained. "Then those two came up and asked why. I told them to feel my wand which was still sticky."
"Sounds like there's a bit of a Marauder in you" Remus praised Harry for the joke on the twins.
"Wimp" the students that had him chorused.
Hermione was looking at her lap as everyone in the room turned their attention to her now that everyone knew she had lied.
"Only five?!" the twins exclaimed.
"They're lucky they didn't get a detention" Molly said glaring at the trio.
"Um…Professor?" Harry asked "Now that you know the truth, out of curiosity, if we had told you what really happened…well…what would have happened?"
"I'm not sure right now Mr. Potter" McGonagall said looking like she needed a scotch on the rock.
"She might not have needed saving if you hadn't insulted her to begin with" Ginny reprimanded her brother.
"Twice in one chapter!" the twins laughed.
"So THAT'S how it happened!" Charlie realized.
"Shame it doesn't work that way with werewolves" Remus said giving Snape a look.
"What do you mean?" Snape asked.
"James HADN'T been involved in that prank" Remus said before turning to Sirius.
"So…how bad is the next one?" Sirius asked Harry.
Harry turned to Flitwick who had the book. The Charms instructor turned the page.
"Your first Quidditch game" Flitwick said.
Sirius relaxed, but Remus didn't upon seeing everyone who had witnessed said game tense and scoot away a bit from Molly and/or Sirius.
"Oh no" Hermione whimpered as she recalled JUST what she had personally done.
