Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when they made it back to the Headmaster's office before Dumbledore had returned. She was in no mood to be answering questions at the moment, she had too many of her own. She knew Harry hadn't told them everything, but then suddenly choosing to wear the Sorting Hat and then running to the opposite side of the castle to hear a prophecy from a slightly insane teacher because Hogwarts had given him a quest was taking things a bit too far. Since being told she was a witch she had learned to accept things that seemed exceptional, but she had her limits. She could tell Neville was as confused as she was, and was about to pester Harry with questions when the Headmaster strode through the entrance to his office, brow furrowed.

"You seem troubled, Headmaster," Hermione said, hoping to smooth over the tense conversations they had had previously.

"I am concerned," Dumbledore said, taking a seat behind his desk, "To find out that one of my own teachers punished a student and then covered it up afterwards."

"So you believe us, then," Neville said, seeming a bit relieved.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied. "I want to apologize for my previous actions. You must forgive an old man for his traditions blinding him from being able to see what was taking place."

"So long as I know that those traditions are willing to be more flexible in the future," Harry said, not unkindly, "Then I will accept your apology." The twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eyes.

"It seems that you three have had some very disturbing events happen to you recently," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "I am a bit chagrined that Hogwarts' wards were able to be breached so easily."

"I am not so sure that the wards were breached," Hermione said nervously. All eyes in the room turned to her. She took a deep breath and continued. "From what I have read, Hogwarts wards are too strong to allow Dark Magic of that strength to pass through without using a large amount of time or techniques that would have been easily detected. I think it is more likely that the culprit cursed the school broom on the grounds. This would have been much subtler and the wards would not have picked up on Dark Magic practiced on the premises." The others were nodding along to what she was saying and Hermione grew more confident. "I also think that the culprit was specifically targeting one of us, and it would be much easier to ensure that one of us three came into contact with the cursed broom if the culprit was inside the wards."

Dumbledore had grown serious.

"I agree with your assessment, but I am worried for what it means," the Headmaster said somberly, "If the culprit was on the grounds and had evaded the searching of the entire staff including myself, then it means that we have a mole inside Hogwarts."

-oO0o0Oo-

They had regrouped in the Living Room of their quarters after the meeting with Dumbledore, who had dismissed them shortly after the revelation that there was a spy inside Hogwarts. Neville was glad that Dumbledore was in their corner now, the Headmaster was a very powerful opponent and Neville doubted that even Harry could have stood against him. Speaking of which, Harry was keeping something from them, and Neville was determined to get to the bottom of it. He usually let people keep their own secrets, but this was getting out of hand. If they were to be a team, Neville had to know what was truly going on. Hermione, he knew, felt the same way. But before he could open his mouth to ask a question, Harry spoke.

"I haven't been completely honest with you both," he said, staring down at the table, "And for that I am sorry. I haven't been able to trust anyone my whole life, and it is hard to break a habit."

"We're here for you Harry," Neville said, genuinely. Hermione nodded.

"I'm sure you had your reasons," she said kindly. Neville might have imagined it, but he thought Harry's eyes might have been a bit watery.

"Right," said Harry, "It's time I told you everything."

They sat in silence, their minds overwhelmed. Neville almost couldn't believe what Harry had said. Gods and monsters, camps and centaurs, blessings and sacrifices, it all seemed too fanciful to be true. But, it also made sense. He knew Harry wasn't normal from the moment he had met him, but he had made friends with him anyway. He couldn't believe what Harry had gone through, and was honored that he had shared this with them. He could see Harry's nervousness about revealing this to them, and he hurried to reassure him.

"I believe you," he said, "You can count on me."

"Me too," Hermione added, "We'll be with you every step of the way." Harry smiled then, the first genuine smile that Neville had seen.

"So, what are we going to do next?" Neville asked.

"I'm still not convinced that Dumbledore is on our side," Harry mused, "He wants something from me."

"What about the cloak he gave you?" Hermione asked.

"Hogwarts warned me about it," Harry said, holding it out, "Neville, you know the most about magical artifacts. What is it?" Neville took the cloak from Harry, then promptly gasped in amazement. Where the cloak draped over his hands, it was completely invisible.

"This is a power invisibility cloak," Neville exclaimed, inspecting it further, "Its completely clear, no blurring or opaqueness around the edges, and no outline either. This must be very old or very rare."

"I wonder how my father got it," Harry mused.

"Potter is an Ancient and Noble House," Hermione suggested, "It might have been a family heirloom."

"I wonder if there are other things I don't know about my family," Harry said sadly.

"What about the prophecy?" Neville asked, in an attempt to change the subject into something less melancholy.

"I'll bet the snake of death is Voldemort," said Hermione, "His symbol during the war was a skull with a snake as the tongue. It was called the Dark Mark."

"Then that means Voldemort will come back from the dead," Harry said, "Although that is hardly surprising."

"What I'm confused about is the lion, dragon, and eagle," Neville said.

"Well the eagle is the symbol for Ravenclaw and the lion is Gryffindor," Hermione answered, "But I don't know about the dragon."

"I suppose we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it," Harry said determinedly.

-oO0o0Oo-

The rest of September passed without further incidents, although everyone remained on high alert. Professor Snape still refused to be civil with Harry and his friends but his hostility had been reined in a bit. Now that Dumbledore was not openly against them and the rest of the student body had gotten used to the situation, Harry, Neville, and Hermione had begun occasionally eating dinner in the Great Hall. October flew past and soon it was time for the Halloween feast.

Harry could not help but be amazed with the decorations in the Great Hall. Minerva and Professor Flitwick had clearly outdone themselves in providing a festive atmosphere. Jackolanters had replaced the floating candles, live bats fluttered between the rafters, and black cats prowled beneath the tables. Harry and his friends were thoroughly enjoying themselves when Professor Quirrell barged through the doors to the Great Hall.

"Troll in the Dungeons! Troll in the Dungeons! Thought you ought to know!" The professor exclaimed then collapsed in a dead faint. Chaos erupted immediately, but Harry, Hermione, and Neville had already charged out from the Hall.

"Hogwarts, take us to the Troll," Harry shouted, drawing his sword, "Hermione, what are we dealing with?"

"Most likely a Mountain Troll," Hermione said, running beside Neville, "They are 12 feet tall and their skin is very tough against spells but they aren't very bright."

"Right. Hermione, if it has a weapon, try and disarm it with a spell then help any hostages," Harry said, coming up with a strategy as they ran, "Neville, keep it distracted while I attack. There may be students in trouble so we need to move fast." Hogwarts let them out just outside a bathroom on the third floor. Harry could hear high pitched screams coming from within and drew his sword. Looking to either side of him, Neville and Hermione had drawn their wands and wore determined expressions. Exchanging nods, they charged through the ruined doorway. The troll had trapped two young Hufflepuff students in one of the stalls and was busy smashing everything in sight with a heavy wooden club as large as Harry.

"Wingardium leviosa!" Hermione shouted, levitating the club out of the trolls hand. Neville then quickly ran behind it and fired off a loud noise-making charm. Startled, the troll turned towards the sound, allowing Hermione to shepherd the frightened students to safety. Knowing he had to restrict the monster's movements, Harry slashed the back of the trolls knees, leaving it unable to walk. Enraged, the troll roared loudly, and as it turned toward Harry he launched himself upward. As the monster reached for him, he cut off both its hands and decapitated it in one smooth movement. With a bone jarring thud, the troll and its head fell to the floor, adding the rapidly spreading pool of blue blood to the already ruined bathroom. Harry turned to the two Hufflepuffs standing safely outside.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. They nodded, wide eyed.

"Good," Harry smiled, and turned to Neville and Hermione, "Nice first battle."

"Thanks," said Neville, smiling back. Hermione had just opened her mouth to reply when the entirety of the Hogwarts staff appeared.

"What is the meaning of this, Potter?" Snape snapped.

"We just rescued two of our fellow students," Hermione said cooly, "Or did you not realize that was a troll behind us?" Harry struggled to conceal his smile. Snape made to answer her remark but Dumbledore placed a firm hand on the Professor's shoulder.

"These two students need to be checked in the hospital wing," Harry stated, glad that he didn't have to deal with another of Snape's outbursts, "They were trapped in one of these stalls when we arrived."

"Perhaps one of you could explain what happened from the beginning," McGonagall suggested. As Neville began to recount the past events, Harry wondered why the troll had not been in the dungeons as Professor Quirell had suggested. And how had the troll gotten in in the first place? He was beginning to think it was high time to seek out the centaurs for help.

-oO0o0Oo-

AN:

All rights belong to the wonderful J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan for the original stories.

We should be able to progress more quickly now.

Thanks for your reviews!