Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story.
**Any print in italics is quoted directly from J.K. Rowling. I will note which book it was taken from at the bottom of the chapter.**
WARNING: THIS STORY WILL BE RATED M FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS.
-Please note that anything in Italics is probably directly quoted from one of the books, I will try to site books and page numbers when I can.- ***Gender Changes will not be italicized as they are not part of the book. For example, if I change something from him to her or her to him I won't Italicize.
A/N: Sorry all for the delay in posting. Life has gotten busy on me. Now that I am out of classes for the summer, I will try to post more frequently.
Chapter 3:
"It's no wonder no one can stand him," she said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "he's a nightmare, honestly." Rhonda's words were disrupted when she was jostled into Harry as a blur of curly brown hair rushed past them. Harry recognized the retreating figure as Herman Granger.
"That was quite rude, you know." Harry admonished. "He's probably only that way because he's trying to fit into our world. There is a lot of pureblood predjudice around. I think he's trying to show that he's just as good as any pureblood, he's just going about it the wrong way."
Rhonda's face turned scarlet with embarrassment. "I-I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. I should find him and apologize.
"Not now Rhonda, you can apologize later. Professor Snape will kill us if we're late to his class. I'm sure you will be able to apologize at dinner." Harry replied, grabbing Rhonda's arm and dragging her toward the entrance to the dungeons.
+ + +
Harriet was just lifting a bit of baked potato to her mouth when Professor Quirrel came running into the hall as though the hounds of hell were on his tail. "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know." He gasped out just before collapsing to the floor in a dead faint.
How the hell did a troll get into the school? Harriet wondered as the prefects began to lead the students back to the dormitories. They were halfway back to the dorm when she realized Herman wasn't there.
"Where's Herman?" she asked with concern.
"I saw him in one of the unused classrooms on the third floor," Neville replied quietly. "His eyes were red. I think he's been crying."
Harry and Rhonda looked at each other with concern. "He doesn't know about the troll," they gasped, racing back down the stairs before Percy could stop them.
They were panting and out of breath when they reached the third floor. The door to several classrooms had been smashed in, the rooms destroyed. They could hear the troll roaring to their right and Herman's shouting. They rushed toward the sound and charged into the boys lavatory. Both girls skidded to a sudden stop at the sight of the huge troll, smashing through the stall doors.
Herman slid under one of the doors just as the troll bashed it away with his enormous club. "Run Herman!" Rhonda shouted, brandishing her wand even as her hand shook. Herman came running towards her, terror suffusing his features. Harry, who'd circled around behind the troll, jumped on its back. "Run, I'll distract it." She shouted, whipping out her wand. She pointed it at the troll – "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"
The troll crashed to the floor, Harry toppling down with it. She watched in slow motion as the giant club came toward her head. "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" Rhonda shouted. The club stopped its free fall, hovering in midair just as the teachers came rushing into the room.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded professor McGonagall in a stern voice. Hariett could see Professors Snape and Flitwick in the background. "What are the three of you doing out of your dorms, and how did you manage to subdue a full grown mountain troll?" she took in the inert form of the troll and the hovering club. Herman stepped forward.
"It's my fault Ma'am. I'd read about trolls and thought I could handle it. When Rhonda and Harriet noticed I wasn't with the others they came looking for me. I'd probably be dead now if it wasn't for their quick thinking." His face was scarlet. Harriet and Rhonda looked at each other in shock. They'd never heard Herman tell a lie before and the fact that He'd told one to protect them really impressed them.
"Fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor house for your rash behavior, Mister Granger." McGonagall turned to the girls. "However, I am awarding you each fifty points for loyalty and bravery in defense of a friend." Harriet and Rhonda smiled at each other until Professor Snape cut in. "I will be deducting ten points each though for ignoring the instructions of the Headmaster whose only purpose in ordering students to the dorms was to save their lives." He glared down at the three children. Harriet could feel the gentle touch against her mind and opened her shields to let him view the events that had happened that night.
Harry sat fidgeting in Dumbledore's office. She'd been called there ostensibly to give him her take on the night's events. She'd been sitting for at least ten minutes before he entered the room. "Ah, Harriet, lemon drop?" He held out a bowl in offering and she gingerly took one, popping it into her mouth. She felt it lightly tingle against her tongue as she sucked on it. Dumbledore silently watched her, his eyes twinkling.
"Now, Miss Potter, I'd like the truth of tonight's events." He stated. "Why don't you start with how the troll was really knocked out."
She opened her mouth to tell him the story that Herman had devised which skimmed fairly close to the truth. The real truth spilled out. She told him about Rhonda's comments about Herman and about hearing that Herman was still in the bathroom. Harriet could feel her mind screaming as the whole story spilled out. She saw Dumbledore's eyes flash as she admitted to using an advanced spell to knock out the troll.
"And how did you know such an advanced spell?" He asked, leaning forward intently.
"Uncle Toby taught me." She replied, heedless of the warning screaming in her head.
"And who is Uncle Toby?" The question was like a trigger. She could feel the change in her immediately.
"Uncle Toby is my guardian. He raised me after my parents died."
"I know that child. What is his last name? Where does he hail from?" She could feel him probing at her mind again and was thankful for the strong shields that were in place.
"His last name is King," she lied. We've lived in Greenwich for as long as I can remember, that is all I know." She could feel him probing harder and decided to put a stop to it.
"No offense, Headmaster, but I'd appreciate it if you would stop attempting to read my thoughts. Without my consent it is not only immoral, but illegal too, not to mention against school by-laws except in emergency situations." She suppressed a smug smile at the shocked look in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Did your Uncle Toby teach you this?" He asked.
"No, sir," she lied again. "Uncle Toby is a Muggle. His cousin Ted taught me. He's a wizard who works as a Muggle News Reporter."
"How did you come to live with your Uncle Toby?"
"After Voldemort killed my parents, I appeared on Uncle Toby's doorstep. He's a distant relative of my mother and she had a muggle will stating I was to be placed in his care if anything should happen to her or my father." She looked at the headmaster quizzically. "Why do you ask?"
"You disappeared the night your parents died. No one knew what had happened to you or if you were even still alive. We don't know who took you from your parents' home that night or why you weren't brought to me. I promised your parents I would see that you were cared for if anything should happen to them."
"I'm fine where I am. No one has ever bothered me at Uncle Toby's and The Tonkses look in on me from time to time and have always stepped in to deal with any accidental magic." Harry yawned widely, feigning exhaustion. "I've answered all your questions, sir, may I return to my dorm? I'm afraid I'm quite tired." And, she thought, I need to send a copy of this to Uncle Toby so he knows what is going on.
"Very well, child, you are dismissed."
Dumbledore sighed, clearly disappointed that he would not get any further information out of her. He knew she couldn't be lying. The veritaserum that was mixed with the lemon drops assured him she was being completely truthful.
Author's Note: I'm back. Now that I have moved, I will try to keep up with this story more. As we go further into the story, we will veer more and more from canon dialog as I don't want to follow the books too closely. We will mostly stick with Harriet's viewpoint, but will occasionally delve into someone else's viewpoint to further flesh out characters that were never given much character in the series.
Cosmyk