/sign language/
*Graphic depictions of violence and blood*
Late update because I got really sad, apologies.
Chapter 9: Halloween
On Halloween night, the castle was given quite a shock. Hermione had been having a really bad day already, something her mum has said in a letter had set her off and she'd locked herself in the girls bathroom. Flora had been by earlier and tried to coax Hermione out to no avail. Instead, she'd promised to bring some food after the feast. But before she got the chance, Quirrell had stormed in shouting about a troll right before fainting. The entire student body panicked, and while the prefects were trying to round up their students, Flora remembered Hermione in the bathroom. Neville was right in front of her, so she tugged on his sleeve.
"/Hermione!/" she said, and Neville's eyes widened.
"I'll tell a prefect!" he said, and rushed off towards Cedric. But Cedric was behind them, plus a couple hundred other kids, so Flora ran to the door. She spotted Draco and Ron on her way, and signed frantically to them as well. They didn't seem to understand, but followed her anyway.
"Shit! Hermione!" Draco said, finally realizing where they were going as they got to the bathrooms corridor. They rounded the last corner and froze in their tracks.
Trolls were notorious for being big and ugly, but Draco had never fully appreciated just how big and ugly they could get, and Ron's face had noticeably paled at the sight. Before the kids regained control of their bodies, the troll had entered the girls bathroom. Flora raced past the door before it closed completely.
Hermione was in a ball under one of the sinks, and she was already screaming. The troll didn't like her screams though, and kept smashing random sinks as Hermione backed further away from it. Draco entered the bathroom while Flora was formulating a plan and did the stupidest thing he could think of.
"Hey, ugly!" he shouted at the troll. It spun around haphazardly, taking a bunch of the stalls out with its club.
Draco started sending sparks at it, which didn't hurt the thing but made it angry, and Ron was trying to use the levitation spell to get its club out of its hand. Flora ran past the troll towards Hermione. She'd hoped that Draco and Ron were enough of a nuisance to keep its attention off of her, but she was wrong. She'd accidentally grazed its leg on her way past and the troll had swatted its empty hand at her, throwing her into Hermione. It was blocking the door now, with Draco and Ron behind it still sending sparks, and the two girls huddled and bleeding in the rubble of the bathroom.
Paying the boys no mind, the troll advanced on the girls.
"Help!" Draco screamed into the hall. "The trolls in here! Help!"
Hovering over its chosen prey, the troll screamed and pulled back its arm, swinging the club through more stalls.
Time slowed for Flora. She could see parts of Draco behind the troll, still sending of sparks and shouting for help. She could hear Hermione whimpering behind her. And she could see that the troll club would eventually connect with the girls. They'd both die immediately. She wasn't concerned with her own death, but she wanted Hermione to live. So she stood up, ready to give her life for her friend.
As soon as she was on her feet her arm got really heavy. She'd expected to see some grave wound, but instead there was a sword. There was no time to think, so she ran forward and swung the sword with all her might, slashing across the trolls low hanging stomach. She must have cut deep because blood and intestines gushed from the wound. The toll staggered backwards as its insides spilled out. It was still wailing so Flora swung again, this time vertically. She brought the blade up over her head and took another step forward, slashing down with all her strength. As steel met flesh, Flora felt a tug on her core and put her energy behind that instead. Flora's eyes were closed by this point, so only Hermione saw the blade begin to glow before an explosion of energy tore the troll apart.
Following the bast was a moment of deceptive quiet. As the dust and blood settled, Hari opened her eyes. She herself was standing in the middle of the bathroom with the bottom half of the troll to her right and the top half to her left. Past the legs she saw Draco and Ron and the bathrooms doorway, and past the head was Hermione, still curled against the wall. Hermione had some scrapes, but most of the blood on her was from the troll. The boys looked pretty clean, considering how the rest of the bathroom looked. Draco was saying something, but Flora's ears were ringing and tears were running down her face, making tracks through the blood.
She tried to move but was entangled in what appeared to be the small intestine. Some of the trolls organs that were on the ground were either on fire or were smoking, but Hari didn't see it. She couldn't really see anything; her glasses were cracked and her eyes were too small to accommodate that amount of tears that were flowing. None of the children spoke to each other, they just stared at the grisly remains of the mountain troll.
Hermione was the first to move. She slid up the wall slowly and rested for a bit once she was upright. Stepping around various organs, burnt flesh, and pools of blood, Hermione put her hands on Flora's shoulders gently, and led her out of the bathroom. Draco on Ron made a path for the two traumatized kids.
Once everyone was out of the bathroom and the door closed behind them, Draco fell to floor, fighting a losing battle with his own tears. Ron was trying to help him up when Snape came around the corner with McGonagall and Quirrell in tow.
"What in Merlin's name," McGonagall began, clutching her hands to her chest. Four first years stood before them, covered in blood and crying silently.
Quirrell started stuttering but Snape cut him off with a glare and made his way to the group, looking over each of them from head to toe. Flora was covered in blood, but it didn't look like it was hers. Her robes weren't torn anywhere.
"What's happened here?" Snape asked calmly.
Ron, being the only one coherent enough to speak, said, "It's in there, sir," and pointed towards the bathroom.
McGonagall made her way to the door while Snape knelt besides Flora. "Are you alright?" he asked gently. All the kids were still on their feet, so it couldn't be that bad.
She met his eyes and shook her head. Snape panicked and looked her over again, then pulled his wand and tapped each of them on the forehead while muttering under his breath. Four scrolls appeared, and Snape read it quickly without noticing Quirrell reading over his shoulder.
Patient: Flora Potter
Injuries: Magical Exhaustion (severe), Concussion (moderate), Broken Ribs (3), Internal Bleeding (mild), Bruising (chest, side, shoulder), Scrapes (mild), Shock
Patient: Hermione Granger
Injuries: Broken Rib (1), Concussion (mild), Minor Scrapes and Bruises, Shock
Patient: Draco Malfoy
Injuries: Minor Scrapes and Bruises, Shock
Patient: Ronald Weasley
Injuries: Minor Scrapes, Shock
"Misters Malfoy and Weasley, you will assist Miss Granger to the infirmary." Snape asked.
"Yes, sir," they said quietly.
"Alright. Flora? You've got more extensive injuries, so I'm going to carry you." Without receiving any acknowledgement, Snape picked the small girl up and headed towards the infirmary.
Madam Pomfrey actually screamed when she saw them. Flora was drenched in blood, and Severus was wearing confusion and worry all over his face. He set Flora down on a bed and immediately started fussing over her, actually fussing! He vanished as much of the blood as he could and sent a few more heavy duty diagnostic spells at her. Flora just sat there with a dazed expression on her face. Draco, Ron, and Hermione came in shortly after.
After confirming that there was no lasting damage to Flora, Snape took a step back and sent a patronus out. Flora seemed more interested in the patronus than anything else.
"I think he sent it to Father," Draco told her.
"/What is it?/" she asked.
"It's called a patronus, they can be used to send messages. They're really difficult to cast though, I don't think Father can cast his own."
The three kids sat on one bed together while the adults stepped outside. Madam Pomfrey handed them all vials of potions, which they took without complaint. Draco and Hermione seemed to have come to some sort of truce; they sat on either side of Flora and had sandwiched her in a hug.
Dumbledore came in a few minutes later, wanting to question them.
"Lucius will be here soon, and I'd advise waiting for him before you question his son," Snape warned.
"Surely you will suffice as adult supervision, Severus. You are the boys godfather, after all."
"His father will be here-," Snape began to argue.
"His father is already here," Lucius interrupted. He strode over to Draco and separated him from the girls to assess the damage. "What happened?"
"Professor Quirrell interrupted the feast," Draco began. "He said there was a troll loose in the castle, and we were all trying to get out of the Great Hall, when Flora grabbed me and Weasley. Hermione had been in the bathroom all day so she didn't know about the troll and we went to find her."
"Why did you not tell a teacher?" Lucius questioned.
"/I did,/" Flora signed. Lucius shot the girl a confused glare, but she ignored it and continued. "/I told Neville and he told Cedric, but Cedric wasn't close enough to the doors so I decided to go ahead myself. I grabbed the boys on my way out./" Draco had relayed the message to his father, as Lucius was the only one in the room that couldn't understand sign.
"What happened next?" he asked, turning his attention back to his son.
"We got to the bathroom just as the troll went in. Weasley and I-,"
"I think you can probably call me 'Ron' now," Ron said with forced laughter; his face was still pale and he couldn't seem to look anyone in the eye.
"Right," Draco said. "Ron and I tried to distract it while Flora went to get Hermione. It worked at first but then in went for the girls. I… I didn't really see what happened after that."
"Flora conjured a sword!" Hermione said. "She stood up to face it and a sword appeared in her hand and she cut its stomach open and then it started glowing and then the troll just… exploded."
"And where is this sword now?" Lucius asked.
"Ah, it's right here," Dumbledore cut in, producing the sword.
"Is that…?" Snape asked, obviously shocked.
"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "The lost sword of Godric Gryffindor."
The room was silent for a moment as the adults processed the information, but Flora and Hermione didn't understand what the big deal was.
"I don't believe you conjured the sword," Dumbledore told Flora, "This blade last belonged to Gryffindor House's namesake, and hasn't been seen for thousands of years. For it to appear in your time of need means that you embodied the true spirit of Gryffindor. I assume you were willing to lose your life if it mean that Miss Granger was safe?"
"/Draco and Ron, too,/" she added. She sat up as tall as she could, lifting her chin up the way Draco had taught her. "/I would gladly die for any of my friends./"
"Yes, of course," Dumbledore chuckled to himself and turned to the adults. "I think some house points are in order, don't you? Let's see… thirty points to Ravenclaw and Slytherin for Mr.'s Malfoy and Weasley rushing to the aid of a fellow student, and calling for help while attempting to distract the troll. Twenty points to Hufflepuff for Mr. Longbottom, for alerting his prefect immediately. And I believe fifty points are in order for Miss Potter. Not only did you realize your friend was in trouble, you saved her life! Quite splendidly as well. I also believe that Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Potter should be expecting an award for services to the school." He gave the kids a wink, then turned to leave the infirmary.
"Wait!" Draco called out. "Shouldn't Flora get to keep the sword? It chose her, like a wand."
"I'm afraid the sword is a historical artifact," Dumbledore began. "It rightfully belongs to the school."
"Nonsense," Lucius cut in. "The sword hasn't been seen in ages, and it rightfully belongs to the Nation. Any Goblin made artifact belongs to the Nation as soon as it's human owner dies."
"Lord Malfoy, I'm sure you're not suggesting-,"
"You know their laws as well as I do, Headmaster," the elder Malfoy cut him off, "They should have already been informed. To know what you have in your possession and willing keep it from them would be an affront. People have been banned for less."
Dumbledore knew his hands were tied so he made no reply, but his smile was gone and his eyes weren't twinkling anymore.
"Miss Potter should write to her account manager above it, since it appeared to her. You do know the name of your account manager, correct?"
"/Yes, I remember,/" Flora said. She was tempted to name Griphook, but didn't know if that was appropriate.
"Good. Now, if there anything else, I would like to escort my son back to the tower."
Madam Pomfrey fussed over the children for another few moments, but Flora was in the worst shape, so the other kids were sent on their way and Flora would be staying overnight. Lord Malfoy bent down to address Flora before they all parted ways.
"I believe the House of Malfoy owes you a debt. Do remember us in your next time of need," then he turned his back and walked away. She supposed it was as close to a 'thank you' as she was going to get.