By Halloween, things between Elizabeth and Ron had returned to normal. They were constantly bickering, but she was right, he came running to her with Potions coursework not two days after they agreed to speak again. Ron always needed her help, even when they were younger. He wasn't very bright, she had to admit, but it never bothered her. Whenever Fred and George would tell him something, most of the time to scare him, she would always pull out a book and prove them wrong. Of course, she had to often do the same to him when he was dead certain he was right and she knew for a fact he wasn't. Ever since school started this year, he had been coming to her for help with coursework. She was fairly certain he could do it himself, if he ever cracked a book, but for some reason she liked being needed. That, and it was easy to hang over his head when she wanted him to stop being stubborn.

On the bright side, Professor Flitwick had announced in Charms that they were ready to start making objects fly. Elizabeth was familiar with object levitation. Her grandfather used the spell on books all the time in the shop when they were too heavy for Richard to lift, or they were on a shelf too high for Elizabeth to reach on the ladder. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practise with a feather. Harry had wound up with Seamus Finnigan, who didn't make his feather fly, but instead set it on fire. Elizabeth had been paired with Neville and she would have rather been paired with Seamus after she quickly found out that Neville was highly incompetent when it came to magic.

"Just have a go, it's not that hard," she said.

"I can't," said Neville. "I'm no good at magic."

"Rubbish, you just have to be confident." She tried to raise his spirits. "Watch." She flicked her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather rose off the desk and hovered in the air above their heads.

"Oh, well done, Miss Wellington!" said Professor Flitwick.

Across the room Ron was paired with Hermione, who was looking particularly sour that Elizabeth had gotten it before her, as she liked to be the first to succeed at everything. Hermione was so snobbish that she couldn't stand not being the best at magic, like it was a competition.

"So what?" said Hermione arrogantly. "Anyone could get such an easy spell."

Obviously not, because Ron wasn't having any luck with their feather. Hermione must have been having a bad morning because she got angry at for him for not getting it.

"You're saying it wrong," she 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 snarled.

Hermione flicked her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Their feather had rose up just like Elizabeth's had.

"Oh, Miss Granger has done it too!" said Professor Flitwick, clapping.

By the time they left Charms, Ron was in a very bad mood. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said.

"Ron!" Elizabeth scolded him. "Don't say that so loud."

"Why not? She's a nightmare, honestly. I feel sorry for you that you have to share a room with her."

Someone had knocked into Harry as they hurried passed him. They briefly saw Hermione as she ran down the corridor in tears.

"I think she heard you," said Harry.

"So?" said Ron. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

"You have no regard for others, do you?" said Elizabeth.

"You don't like her either."

"That doesn't give you the right to say such things."

"If you care so much why don't you go comfort her then?"

"Because you're the one who made her cry."

Ron looked uncomfortable being told this, but it was the truth. Elizabeth couldn't hide her dislike for Hermione, but she never wanted to hurt her. She just wanted her to leave them all alone and thanks to Ron, it seemed like she would get her wish.

Hermione didn't show up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. Elizabeth was beginning to worry about her, especially since Hermione was not the type to miss a lesson. Ron and Harry couldn't have cared less about her and what happened earlier. They were busy enjoying the Halloween feast when Elizabeth entered the Great Hall and took a seat at Gryffindor table with them.

"I'll have you know that Parvati just informed me that Hermione is in the girls' toilets crying and wants to be left alone."

"Then leave her alone," said Ron.

Elizabeth was just about to yell at him when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall. He ran up to Dumbledore and gasped, "Troll ─ in the dungeons ─ thought you ought to know." He sank to the floor in a dead faint.

"What kind of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher faints over a troll?" asked Elizabeth, but her question was drowned out by the sound of students bursting into a panic.

The whole hall was in an uproar. It took several firecrackers exploding from Dumbledore's wand to bring silence. "Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy was in his element. "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!"

He was so smug, just like Hermione.

"Oh, no, Hermione!" gasped Elizabeth.

"What about her?" said Ron.

"She's still in the girls' toilet."

"So?"

"Ron, what happens if the troll finds her? Do you seriously want her to get killed? You're the reason she's in this mess in the first place."

"She can take care of herself."

"Ronald Weasley, you are in for a world of hurt if you don't go warn her. There is a troll running around the school and she's in serious danger. Now, you better go save her before I tell your mother on you." Elizabeth then remembered that entrusting Ron with Hermione's life was not the best idea. "All right, Harry and I save her, but you're coming with us."

"Fine, but Percy'd better not see us. I don't want to get in trouble."

"You don't want to get in trouble? Where was this attitude of yours when you agreed to duel Malfoy?"

Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth shuffled in with the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned a corner when they heard footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry and Elizabeth behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it they saw Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me," said Ron.

"Come on, you two," said Elizabeth.

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor. Ron stopped them.

"Can you smell something?" he said.

There was a foul stench of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.

Elizabeth retched. "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."

Ron hushed her. They heard a low grunting and the shuffling of gigantic feet. At the end of a passageway to the left, something was moving toward them. They shrank back into the shadows and watched it emerge. It was twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. Elizabeth held her breath. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. Elizabeth was horrified when it slouched slowly into the room. It was in the girls' toilet.

"The key's in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

"Bad idea," said Elizabeth. "That's the girls' toilet. You'd be locking it in there with Hermione."

They were as pale as ghosts when they heard a petrified scream. Without thinking they rushed into the toilet. Hermione was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.

"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately.

Elizabeth racked her brain for any spell to stop the troll. "Oppungo!" she shouted.

All the taps that had been knocked off the wall began hurling themselves at the troll. After the last tap fell to the ground, the troll turned on Elizabeth and went for her instead, lifting its club as it went. She shrunk back against the wall. Suddenly she remembered something mentioned in William's book.

"Incarcerous!" she said, shakily pointing her wand at the troll as chains fired out of it, wrapping around the troll and causing it to fall with a loud boom that shook the ground. It dropped it's club as its cries echoed through the bathroom.

Ron had pulled out his wand and said the first spell that came to mind.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club that the troll had dropped rose high into the air, turned slowly over, and dropped, with a sickening crack onto the troll's head. The troll fell silent.

Elizabeth fell to her knees, shaking. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.

"Is it ─ dead?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. They hadn't realised what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crash and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell after him. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Elizabeth couldn't believe him. He was such a coward. She had almost gotten beaten to death by the troll and she was holding up better than Professor Quirrell. Her heart was beating out of her chest and her breathing was rapid, but at least she wasn't afraid of it when it was passed out like he was.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Elizabeth looked up at her. She had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white and she was sure all four of them were in the worst trouble of their lives. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Elizabeth was speechless. She was too shocked by what has just transpired to say anything. Normally, she would have said anything to defend them, but now she just couldn't.

"Please, Professor McGonagall ─ they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet. "I went looking for the troll because I ─ I thought I could deal with on my own ─ you know, because I've read all about them."

Elizabeth was astounded. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now."

Snape bent over the troll. "Where did the chains come from?" he said, his voice sounding a bit more sinister than usual to Elizabeth.

"I did it," Elizabeth admitted, hanging her head, expecting to be in expelled. "I knocked it out too. Harry and Ron didn't have anything to do with it. They shouldn't be punished."

Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well ─ in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head. She was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "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. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll."

Elizabeth had finally found the strength to stand and rose silently to await punishment. Surely McGonagall would be writing home to her grandmother about this one and once Margaret was done sending nasty letters about the amount of trouble she would be in at Christmas, Richard would no doubt be nagging her that he told her countless times to stay out of trouble this year and instead she went looking for it. Richard was beginning to be more annoying at school than he was at home.

"You will each win Gryffindor five points," Professor McGonagall said. "Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You all may go."

They hurried out of the chamber like scared little mice and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up.

"You know, you'd think that for knocking that thing out we wouldn't be in trouble," said Elizabeth.

"And we'd get more than fifteen points," Ron grumbled.

"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's," said Harry.

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."

"Because I made you," Elizabeth reminded him. "She wouldn't had needed saving if you didn't upset her though."

Ron still seemed reluctant to accept what he had done earlier, but Elizabeth was in no mood to make such a deal out of it at that moment. There was plenty of time for that later.

They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Pig snout," they said and entered.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating their food that had been sent up. Hermione stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.

From that moment on, whether they always liked it or not, Hermione Granger became their friend.

As they entered November there were many noticeable changes. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Winter was definitely approaching. Elizabeth had always hated winter for a number of reasons. She couldn't stand the cold, the snow was a nightmare, and everything seemed so drab, like life was just dull and unexciting. The year was almost at an end too. She always felt so pessimistic at the end of the year and only reflected on all the bad things that had happened. She never felt happy again when the new year came around either.

Hermione had become more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it. Professor McGonagall seemed nicer too, or at least a tiny bit impressed with them. The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the four of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and Hermione had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar. Elizabeth had decided to let Hermione do the magic outside of class, as long as she admitted that Elizabeth was an equally talent witch. She was reluctant to do so, but eventually complied after being reminded of Halloween once more for good measure.

They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard, limping. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Elizabeth moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?"

It was Quidditch Through the Ages, the book Hermione had taken out of the library before their first flying lesson. She had lent it to him, thinking it would help prepare him for his first match. Harry showed Snape the book.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me."

"You've just made that rule up," said Elizabeth. "I see students do it all the time."

"Five points from Gryffindor."

"Fine, we'll just go ask Madam Pince. She'd love to know you're nicking library books from students."

Snape snarled. He shoved the book back at Harry and limped away.

"One of these days, Elizabeth, you're going to get in serious trouble for talking to professors that way," said Hermione.

"It's just Snape," said Elizabeth. "What's he gonna do that he doesn't already? Wonder what's wrong with his leg, though."

"Potions accident?" suggested Ron.

"I highly doubt that," said Hermione.

"You think it was that dog?" Harry inquired. "Maybe he's after what it's guarding."

"He wouldn't," said Hermione. "He wouldn't try to steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"If that's true, and he did try to get past the dog," said Elizabeth thinking for a moment, "then what's he after?"

That night after dinner, Elizabeth got a very unexpected visit to the common room window. It was Telemachus, struggling to fly, with a little box attached to his leg. She opened the window for him and he rolled right onto the ledge, off it, and landed right on the common room floor, squawking, as usual.

She bent down to get the box. "You're a right mess there, bird," she said to the little owl, who was rolling back and forth to get up.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"That's Telemachus. He's my brother's feather duster." She picked him up and set him down so he was on his feet.

"Not that," Ron said. "The box."

"I don't know. Something for me I assume. Guess Pudgy here didn't make it in time for the post this morning." She pet Telemachus on the head before picking him up and throwing him out the window. It was becoming a terrible habit of hers. She waited to make sure he was flying and then closed the window behind him. She sat down in one of the armchairs across from Ron and Harry with the box.

"Who's it from?" Harry asked.

Elizabeth looked it over and found on the bottom a poorly scribbled name. "Claudius," she read. "My uncle's friend Claudius. Ron, you remember him." Ron had a blank look on his face. "Stumpy little man, shaggy hair, blue eyes," she described, but Ron just blankly stared at her. "Claudius. My uncle's friend Claudius. Short man, raspy voice." Ron shook his head. "Ripped his jumpers at the neck."

"That nutter!" Ron exclaimed.

"He works in the Ministry now in the Department of International Magic Cooperation, International Magical Office of Law, you know."

"Your looney uncle get him that job?" Ron snorted.

"You be quiet," Elizabeth snapped and opened the box.

"Well, what is it?"

Elizabeth stared curiously at the object. She pulled it out of the box. "It's a key," she said simply.

"What for?" Ron asked.

Elizabeth turned the box over, looking for any explanation. "It doesn't say. It's just a key."

"Great, now he's as daft as your uncle."

Elizabeth just ignored him. She was holding in her hand a small gold key that looked far too small to open a door, but too big for a chest or music box. It was highly peculiar of Claudius to send her things out of the blue like that, and without any explanation at all. As much as she was trying to avoid Richard since the incident on Halloween, to skip the inevitable lecture about responsibility that he was surely preparing for her, she thought if she wanted answers to what the key opened, he was her only option to ask at the moment. She just dreaded the thought of having to turn to him. He was also so smug when she needed his help.

A/N: Quotes and plot from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, chapter Ten, Halloween pages 170 to 179, and chapter Eleven, Quidditch, pages 180 to 182.

I figured that while oppungo is defined by the encyclopedia of spells to be: causes conjured creatures under the control of the caster to attack the target. But none of the mobil spells seemed well, violent enough, although oppungo is not really that violent. I'm not sure why inanimate objects could not be animated by this spell as well to attack someone or something so I thought I'd give it a try.