Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I only own my OC.

Chapter 5

Several voices were talking. Vivian recognized Dumbledore and McGonagall along with Madam Pomprey but there was one other voice, sounding very agitated...it was Professor Snape's.

"Uhh," said Viv, grabbing her head as her eyes fluttered open. Pain shot up through her arm and she grimaced as she quickly lowered her wounded arm. Her eyes lifted up to see several worried faces glaring at her from around her head.

"Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Would you care to explain how you managed to get that terrible wound on your arm in the middle of the night?"

Viv was unable to form words and she lowered her head, a small tear forming as memories came in flashbacks of the previous night.

"Vivian," said Dumbledore. "There is no point hiding anything from us. We want to help you, and if something is harming you, we can stop it. Maybe we should call your brother..."

"No!" Vivian shouted, sitting up at her arm painfully protested. "Please don't tell Harry. He wouldn't know how to handle it, I can't put this on him right now. Please don't tell him!"

"Vivian, what do you want us to do?" said Professor McGonagall. "You're a student under our care with a major injury that we have no idea what caused or how to prevent it should it happen again."

A couple minutes of silence lapsed the small group before Dumbledore spoke up, "What would you say, Professor Snape?"

Vivian's eyes shifted to Snape who had been standing in the back with a cautious face.

"I believe that whatever's hurting her is doing so in her sleep."

Vivian gasped and Dumbledore frowned at the news.

Professor McGonagall turned to Vivian. "Is that it? Something's attacking you in your sleep?"

Vivian remained silent but her eyes held the answer.

"Then it's decided." said Dumbledore. "Vivian will begin Occlumency with Professor Snape in order to prevent her from any more attacks."

"What's Occlumency?"

"The magical defense of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one." Snape spoke grimly and Vivian was unable to tell what he was thinking due to his dark stare. "It should help you to control your mind so that nobody can attack you subconsciously."

Vivian breathed a sigh of relief and sank back into the bed. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and gave a stern look to Dumbledore. The two seemed to be making a private conversation in their heads, completely ignoring Snape and Vivian. Finally, they broke eye contact.

"Well," Dumbledore sighed, "it seems like there's nothing more we can do. McGonagall and I will go outside to talk with Miss Granger in order to relieve her worrying. It seems she has been waiting most of the morning in order to make sure you were alright."

Vivian felt a stab at all the pain she's caused poor Hermoine. As Dumbledore was walking out, he turned back around, "Don't think you can keep this from your brother. News flies fast and I wouldn't be surprised if he found out within the hour."

As he and McGonagall disappeared, dread filled Vivian at the thought of her brother. Of course he would find out, nothing about her could be hidden from him. He would come marching in here, figure everything out, and everything would go back to how it was three years ago, to the worse part of her life. She cringed at former memories came back, ones she had shut out of her life, or at least tried to.

"Why didn't you come to Dumbledore sooner?" Vivian jumped at the sound of Professor Snape's voice. She had forgotten he was still in the room. He was standing about ten feet from her bed, staring at her with his dark eyes. "You knew he could probably do something to help yet you still kept it a secret. Why?"

Vivian frowned. "It wasn't any of his concern..."

"Yes it was." Snape said stepping closer. "You are a student at Hogwarts and it is the responsibility of all of the Hogwarts staff to ensure your safety."

Vivian crossed her arms. "Why does this mean so much to you? You barely know me; I'm not even in your house yet your standing here as if you've known me my whole life."

"I did know you." His eyes were frozen on hers. "Ever since you were a baby."

"What?" Confusion filled Vivian, a sharp pressure filled her stomach as his eyes continued to stare into hers.

The connection suddenly broke as he stepped away. "Never mind, it is of little importance now. I will expect you in my classroom every night after dinner to begin your Occlumency classes. If your progression goes well, we will lighten the classes, but as for right now, this is of upmost importance."

With a swish of his heavy robes, he turned and disappeared from the room, leaving Vivian staring at the heavy doors that he just walked out of. She felt lost. Her brother, Dumbledore and McGonagall, Hermoine, and Snape now were all wary of her and she felt alone. A small tear escaped her eye as she rolled onto her good side and pressed her cheek into the pillow. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Her eyes closed and pain rolled over her from her arm.

Around an hour later, as predicted, Harry stormed into the hospital wing, his hair a mess and his dark eyes masked with concern and fury.

"You've been here all day and I'm just hearing about this now!"

Vivian winced when Harry finally got to her bed.

"Harry, I-"

"You, what?"

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Don't do this," he said, his eyes growing soft as he grabbed her hand. "I'm your brother. I need to know things like this. You are all I have left and the thought of losing you..."

"I'm not going anywhere right now, Harry. I'm sorry I kept this from you, that was wrong but lately you've been so distracted by me that you've been unable to enjoy your time at Hogwarts."

"Well stop giving me reason to be concerned and I'll start enjoying myself." Harry grumbled.

Vivian giggled. "I can try, but now I'm not alone and I don't need to be afraid anymore."

Harry grew sober again. "So it was the nightmares."

Vivian looked away. "Yes. And they were worse, but now Dumbledore knows and has taken measures in order to help me prevent this. I'm going to start taking private classes with Professor Snape."

Harry nodded, stepping back. "That's good. Well, I'm glad that you are alright. I need to get back, but I'll check on you again later this afternoon and hopefully you'll be ready to leave."

"Madam Pomfrey bandaged my arm really well and gave me a special medicine that will help heal my arm quickly."

Harry smiled. "That's good. Get well soon, sister."

He turned and headed out back the doors. Vivian watched him leave. For eleven, he seemed so much older. This pain had made him older and she only hoped that she could keep up with him otherwise he might leave her behind.

The next day, Vivian was finally able to be released. Madam Pomfrey had decided to keep her over night in order to ensure she wouldn't get hurt again, but surprisingly, nothing had happened and she was finally able to get some well-needed sleep.

Hermoine had come to visit the night before, and she demanded to hear the full story. After a long and painful discussion, Hermoine gave her a hug as tears were streaming down Viv's face. To know that Hermoine would still be her friend after everything that had happened was more than enough to send her over the edge.

Other visitors included Fred and George, bringing her updates on Harry's progress in his first Quidditch practice and surprisingly, Ron. He peeked his head in and grumbled out that he hoped she would recover quickly.

Time went fast after that. She began her night classes with Professor Snape and although she was really quiet, he was a good teacher and her nightmares were finally stopping. Whenever she was with him, he seemed very caring and protective. It was interesting and strange because he was so cold to the rest of the students, especially Harry but it seemed whenever he saw her, a distant look would come to his eye and he would lose his threatening demeanor.

As for Vivian's other classes, she was doing exceptionally well alongside Hermoine as top in her class (well Hermoine was higher but still top in her class). Professor McGonagall had taken special interest in her after she showed natural talent in Transfiguration. McGonagall had assigned her extra reading material and given her access to more advanced spells which pleased Vivian extremely because she was often bored while Harry was off at Quidditch practice.

On Hallowe'en morning the students woke up to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he had thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.

Professor Flitwick had split the classroom into pairs in order to practice. Vivian got paired with Harry while Ron, much to his dismay, was paired with Hermoine. It was harder to tell who was angrier, she hadn't spoken to either Ron or Harry since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.

The spell was difficult for the first years. Harry and Vivian both struggled with the correct pronunciation as the waved their wands around madly in the air.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much luck either.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Vivian heard Hermoine snap. "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.

Hermoine rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Vivian had been walking behind the two and frowned at their words. Someone suddenly knocked into her and the two boys as they hurried past them. It was Hermoine. Vivian had caught a glimpse of her face - and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"Oh, now look what you've done!" said as she shoved past the boys to follow Moine down into the dungeons where she had run off to.

She pushed open the door to the girls' bathroom and heard sobs coming from on of the stalls.

"Hermoine, please come out. They didn't mean it, Ron was just upset that you beat him."

The sniffling continued but Vivian heard Hermoine stand up and peek her head out of the door. Tears were rolling down her face and her eyes were all puffy.

Vivian rushed forward to give her a hug. "It's alright, Moine. I'm here for you."

"I just can't stand those boys," Hermoine said angrily. "I tried to help them several times, first when they tried to sneak out and I took the blame and I've also tried several times to help them with their homework so they don't fail and lose points for our house."

Vivian stroked Moine's hair in attempt to comfort her. "I know Ron and my brother can be irritating, and I apologize for them. They've yet to realize how important you are to our class and to them. Think about what would happen if you weren't there."

Hermoine giggled as she played the image in her mind. "They would probably be failing all of their classes."

Vivian laughed. "Exactly, and I'm sure by the time we leave, they will have an apology waiting."

The two girls decided to skip their next class, both something they have never done, but it was deemed necessary as they sat in the bathroom and talked like old friends.

Hermoine's stomach suddenly growled in their middle of their conversation and the two looked at each other. "I guess we forgot about food being down here."

Vivian nodded. "I'm sure they've already started the Hallowe'en feast. Come on, let's head up."

As the two girls stood up and brushed off their gowns, they froze as a huge thudding sound rang out from the hallway.

"What was that?" Vivian whispered.

"I haven't the slightest clue." Hermoine replied.

The sound came again, this time closer to their door. The two girls squeaked and went to the back of the bathrooms.

"Something's definitely out there."

A foul stench reached Viv's nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seemed to clean.

The door rattled open and a huge figure stuck its head in. Standing 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. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

As it stepped into the bathroom, the door behind it closed and the girls froze at the sound of the lock turning.

"Someone's locked it in here with us," Vivian said with panicked breaths.

Hermoine screamed and backed up into the wall, pulling Vivian along with her.

As the troll began advancing near them, knocking the sinks off of the wall as it went, the door behind it burst opened and Harry and Ron came running in.

"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and seizing a tap he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

The troll stopped a few feet from the girls. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout towards Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around.

"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermoine, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

The shouting and the echos seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Vivian had been standing, taking the scene in with shock until she saw that Ron was about to get hurt. Raising her wand, she yelled, "Incarcerous!" Thick ropes shot from her wand and began wrapping around the troll, immobilizing its hands and feet until it fell to the ground with a thud.

Harry quickly grabbed the troll's club and smacked it in the head, knocking it unconscious.

It was Hermoine who had spoken first.

"Is it - dead?"

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

He bent down to pick up his wand which had fallen earlier in the battle.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked Vivian as he made his way over. "That was bloody brilliant!"

Vivian blushed and put her wand back in her pocket. "It was just something I had been reading about in one of Professor McGonagall's textbooks."

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard their crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrel bring up the rear. When Quirrel saw the troll, he sank down to the floor clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why weren't you in your dormitory?"

A small voice came out of the shadows. "Please, Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermoine had managed to get to her feet at last.

"I went looking for the troll because I- I thought I could deal with it on my own- you know, because I've read all about them."

Ron dropped his wand. Hermoine Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

"I'd be dead if Harry, Vivian, and Ron hadn't come looking for me."

"Who cast the Incarcerous spell?" Professor Snape asked finally standing up.

"Oh my goodness." Professor McGonagall brought her hand up to her mouth when she finally saw the thick ropes wrapped around the troll. "That is advanced magic, NEWT level in fact. Which one of you cast that?"

"It was Vivian!" Ron blurted out, causing Viv to blush. "I was trapped and the troll was about to get me when she cast the spell without any trouble at all and trapped the monster."

"Well," said Professor McGonagall, bring her hands back down to her side. "It seems we have underestimated your abilities in Transfigurations. When I assigned you the extra reading material, I never imagined you would be able to achieve this."

Vivian looked sheepishly at her shoes, blushing at everyone's eyes on her. "I was only thinking of protecting Ron, that was the only spell that came to mind."

"I believe punishments are in order for your students, Professor." Snape had returned to his normal cold demeanor, with a dark expression on his emotionless face.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I am very disappointed in you. If you are not hurt at all, you'd better get off to the Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermoine left.

Professor McGonagall turned to the remaining students.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You must go, except Vivian, I wish to have a word with her."

The boys hurried out of the chamber without a word, leaving Vivian alone with the two Professors, three is you count Quirrel's unconscious body on the ground.

"Vivian, I have to say I am quite impressed with your level of Transfigurations. I believe that you should be advanced into a higher class with the amount of talent you have shown."

Vivian's face lit up in a smile. "Really? Thank you, Professor, I will not let you down."

McGonagall chuckled. "I should hope not. Now, you had better return to the Gryffindor Tower if you wish to get any food before it has all been eaten. Now, I need to consult Professor Dumbledore over what has happened tonight if you will excuse me."

Vivian wasted no time. She left the chamber and was soon back in the Gryffindor Tower, adding food to her starving stomach. She saw Harry, Ron, and Hermoine all huddled together in a corner chattering excitedly. This caused Vivian to smile, it seemed the boys had apologized just as she had predicted.

From that moment on, Hermoine Granger became the boys friend. There are some things that can't be shared without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you are enjoying it so far. Now that we're getting more into the story, it's easier to add more character development and also for you to know the characters more. Upcoming, I will add more non-book scenes to give you a better insight for some of the characters, especially between Snape and Vivian. Also the next chapter will be posted in a week. Please review if you enjoyed this story or have any suggestions for a better plot. Thanks.