The HR-H gang, (Hermione refused to talk with them after they had broken over a dozen school rules, and Ron had decided that was a good thing) sat down for breakfast, and Harry could only imagine how shocked Malfoy was that they weren't on the train home. Ron started on a muffin, as Dumbledore got up from his seat and made an announcement.
"Mr. Filch would like to remind you, that no one is allowed in the trophy room, or is allowed in the corridors after curfew, and there shouldn't be any magic used in the corridors. That is all, thank you." Harry and Ron laughed, as Filch limped up to his seat, holding his ribs in discomfort.
They all resumed eating, as the owls began to flood through the top of the Great Hall. Ron put his hands over his plate, so he wouldn't accidentally eat any owl pellets. Harry didn't pay much attention to the owls, since he hardly ever got any mail, but looked up just in time to see a large package smack him in the head. After he had recovered from that incident to see there was a letter on it.
DO NOT OPEN THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES POTTER!
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but we can't let Snape figure out that you're on the team. Now go open it some-
Harry didn't read the rest of the letter; he just ripped all the wrapping paper off of it and started to parade around the table. He ran out of the Great Hall screaming at the top of his lungs with Ron following close behind. All of the teachers at the head table looked taken aback, but Dumbledore just continued to devour his treacle tart. Harry was still screaming happily when Draco stepped up to them.
"First years aren't allowed broomsticks Potter! You're going to be expelled!" He smiled smugly.
"Could everyone stop trying to expel me?" Harry said laughing, "I mean you aren't getting any where by the looks of it."
McGonagall walked out of the Great Hall, as Draco began to yell, "He has a broomstick! Potter's got a broomstick!" Harry was again reminded of Dudley.
"I know!" said McGonagall, looking around to make sure no one else was there, before transfiguring Draco into a bowl of fruit. "I told you not to open that Potter!" Harry was still dancing. "Anyway Potter, you have training with Oliver Wood today at seven. So be there or I'll expel you!" She walked away, apparently forgetting that she had turned Malfoy into a bowl of fruit. Hagrid tumbled over and saw the peculiar dish.
"Di'n't know we had one 'er these hur." Hagrid said as he bit into a fruit. He threw it to the ground saying, "Piiiiew!Now 'at's a bad apple!"
So that day at seven Harry went to the Quidditch stadium to practice with Wood. Once he got inside he mounted his broom and began to fly around while Oliver wasn't there. After he had performed a corkscrew loop, he heard a voice from below, "COME DOWN HERE POTT'R YA IDIOT!" Harry flew down to Oliver and hopped off of his broom.
"Atchur service," said Harry as he saluted Oliver.
"Anyway Pott'r I'm here to tell you how to play the spert of Quidditch. It's really easy if you've been…well, playing since you were a kid."
That makes me feel better, thought Harry.
"Well, there's four balls." He brought out a large case, with the Hogwarts Seal emblazoned on the front. He pulled out a large red one and explained that it was a quabble or something and that it scored some amount of points or something. He then showed him a Bludger and handed him a big club to hit it with. When it came around Harry winged it right into Oliver's nose. Oliver was able to explain that he was supposed to catch this little golden ball, before he went to the hospital wing because of his nose.
Catching a little golden ball, thought Harry, how hard can it be.
So Harry practiced and practiced, and failed Potions, and suddenly, he had already been at Hogwarts for two months.
Some of the lessons were getting more interesting too. Particularly charms where they were beginning to make objects fly. Harry was paired with Seamus, and Ron was, much to his and her dismay, partnered with Hermione.
"Remember," said Professor Flitwick, as they started their test on the Levitation Charm, "the proper dialect is very important in spells. Remember Barmon Buffoonawa who said 's' instead of 'f' and discovered he was missing his gall bladder."
Ron was having a particularly hard time, and decided to go to his last resort. "Hermione it's not working!"
"Of course it isn't!" she said snobbishly. "It Weeen-guuuur-dieee-oooom Lehhh-vi-oooooooooooo-suh."
"Well why don't you try it yourself then."
Hermione swished and flicked, "Weeen-guuuur-dieee-oooom Lehhh-vi-oooooooooooo-suh!" The feather in front of her lifted into the air, perfectly, and Harry swore he could hear a chorus of angels singing.
"Outstanding! Mrs. Granger,that was Outstanding!" He scribbled down an 'O' for her grade, and turned to Ron, "Mr. Wealsey."
"WUURN-GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRR-DEEEEERUMMMMMM -VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!" Ron flicked and swished and nothing happened.
"See nothing-"
"Ron!" Hermione yelled. Ron moved his wand to the left and accidentally threw Flitwick out the window.
"… CRASH! "Everyone leaned out the window of the turret overlooking the gorge.
"Ouch!" they said in unison.
"Thanks a lot Hermy-ONE!" yelled Ron.
Harry noticed Hermione had left the room.
After Charms, they headed for dinner in the Great Hall, which was decorated to the teeth for Halloween. Above them were jack-o-lanterns that illuminated their paths to the tables, where the entire school sat down to begin the Halloween Feast. Harry sat down and surveyed the table for Hermione, but there was no sign of her.
"Don't worry about her mate. She's probably crying in some bathroom somewhere." It didn't take long for the gossip to come around, and Harry discovered, that yes indeed she was crying in some bathroom somewhere. So Harry decided that a Pumpkin Pasty was good and then started to chew apart a Batty Brownie.
He grabbed another PP as the doors to the Hall burst open, and Quirrell, who had mysteriously been missing, ran to the middle of the Hall and yelled, "Troll! In the dungeon! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Everyone was stupefied, Quirrell in the mean time, looked really stupid in the center of the Great Hall with everyone focusing their attention on him.
"Thought you want to know." He then collapsed to the floor and a few pieces of garlic spilled out of his turban. All of the students began to run around screaming. Dumbledore seemed to be enjoying Magical Marmalade Mutton. McGonagall nudged him in the ribs and he stood up to tell the students how they should follow the Prefects back to their Common Rooms, but Harry was more worried about Hermione.
What if we could get her out of there, thought Harry, she would do my homework for the rest of the year. So Harry convinced Ron to come along and they sat off to warn Hermione about the impending danger. They snuck out of the Hall, and none of the Prefects noticed that they were escaping as they tried to control the mob. Harry and Ron decided to go to the bathroom nearest the Charms classroom. Once they got there they saw that the troll was already walking inside. "We've done all we can do mate," said Ron as he turned around.
"We have to save her Ron. It wouldn't be very Harry Potterish of me to just let her get attacked by a troll." Harry, with Ron far behind, ran into the bathroom. There was the giant troll, staring down at Hermione. The troll had green skin and a large nose that looked like it could produce a large snore.
Hermione dived under a sink as the troll attempted to hit her where she had once been. The troll snorted loudly, as Harry picked up a rubber duck and threw it at him. The troll didn't even feel it, but the squeak of the duck made him turn around, and murder it with his club.
Harry tried to be a hero and punch the troll, but it ended up picking him up and ripping off his pants. Good thing I wore underwear today, thought Harry.
"Do something!" yelled Hermione, who in some bizarre set of circumstances only an award winning writer could have imagined, had lost her wand.
"What?" said Ron, like the total idiot he was.
"Use the Levitation Charm on his club!" said Harry.
"Brilliant!" like an idiot on a commercial. "WUURN-GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRR-DEEEEERUMMMMMM -VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!" Somehow Harry had not already been clubbed. "Nothing's happening!"
"Ron!" Hermione yelled as Ron waved his wand like an idiot. The sink pulled off the wall and flew directly into the troll's head. With a retarded grunt, the troll fell unconscious, shaking the very foundations of Hogwarts. Ron stood there agape, and then shouted, "I'm awesome!"
"No you're not! You're all blundering idiots!" Ron turned around to see that McGonagall and Quirrell had entered the room. "I can't believe this!" McGonagall yelled again as if the world depended on this.
"It was my fault Professor." Hermione was now standing up. As she continued Snape limped into the room, "I thought I could stop the troll myself…and they saved me." Harry wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, but he was nodding his head up and down.
"Five points from Gryffindor for such foolishness!"
Snape sneered at Harry.
"And five points to each of you…for being doofuses!"
Harry smiled at Snape who looked utterly disgusted.
So from that day on, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were inseparable…well most of the time.
Oh and if you're wondering if there was any plot development in this chapter there probably wasn't.