Chapter 3
If Blaise Zabini was cool, suave and organised (which he was), then Theodore Nott was his polar opposite. Even Harry, who hadn't known anything about being Slytherin upon his joining the house, was aware that the fair-haired boy stuck out like a sore thumb. Whilst seemingly well versed in pureblood traditions, never referring to anyone by their first name and mostly keeping to himself, the boy seemed to have an air of messiness about him. His fair hair was always falling over his face, items were always toppling from his hands and his tie was never straight, even his smile was crooked.
"Honestly," Draco sneered one evening, "why is he not in Hufflepuff? It's not like he actually belongs in Slytherin, we're the house of the cunning, after all." Crabbe and Goyle snickered from where they were sitting behind Draco, though Harry was pretty sure they laughed at everything the boy said, funny or not. Harry, who was lounging beside Draco on one of the plush arm chairs, didn't bother to comment, focusing on the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans which he was currently rooting through, only looking up when he heard a sharp intake of breath. Theodore Nott's retreating back was the only sign that he had heard Draco's words. Said boy looked slightly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat to watch the boy exit, before shrugging slightly and glancing at Harry, "Got any toffee ones?" he asked, Harry threw him a caramel coloured bean, and the boy grimaced as he plopped it into his mouth "Eurgh, Earwax." the rest of the day passed without incident, though Theodore didn't join them for lunch.
The day's passed with an almost boring repetition, though they were still the best days of Harry's life. Potions was almost enjoyable. Whilst Snape would stand looming over Harry and Neville's shared cauldron, passing snide comments and insulting them when he could, the two boys had become good friends during their time being paired. Even Draco, who had initially disliked the Longbottom heir, seeing him as wet and worse, a Gryffindor, looked upon him with grudging acceptance. Transfiguration and Charms were by far the most interesting, the professors being entertaining with a good grip over the class. Harry found himself enjoying Charms slightly more, due to the presence of Professor Flitwick. Whilst Mcgonagall was relatively neutral, she tended to look upon the Slytherins with suspicion bubbling behind her eyes. Defence Against the Dark Arts, a subject which had rallied a lot excitement from the students, turned out to be a complete disappointment. Professor Quirrel was afraid of his own shadow, and smelt permanently of garlic. His classes were a glorified joke.
The Slytherins first flying lesson was one that cemented the already strong hatred between Draco, Harry and the boy who they casually referred to as 'the Weasel.' The lesson had started off well, and Harry had felt the flutter of excitement in his stomach as his broom leapt into his hand, obeying his command of, "Up,". However, the class was too good to last, and with a yelp, Neville was swept off his feet and lifted high into the air before plummeting to the ground with a crack that made Harry wince from his position on the sidelines. The weeping boy was escorted to the hospital wing, and his rememberall, a glass orb gifted to him by his grandmother, lay forgotten on the grass. Draco stepped forwards, picking it up and tossing it to Harry, who wiped it on his robes as to clean it before dropping it into his pocket, intending to give it to Neville during their potions class.
"Give it here, Potter." came Weasley's voice, loud and grating to the ears of the Slytherins, Harry snorted and ignored the boy, Draco sneered from beside him and said casually,
"What are you going to do with it Weasley, sell it?" the Slytherin's laughed as the boy flushed red.
Harry commented casually, "It would be worth more then his house… Is it true your whole family lives in one room, Weasel?"
Draco snorted, "My father says it's a glorified pig-pen, do you all sleep on the floor, or do you share a bed?" he asked, eyes glittering maliciously. The red head was crimson with anger and his housemates looked ready to join in the brawl,
"I'd rather be poor then death eater scum like you, Malfoy." he snarled, his housemates cheered and it was Draco's turn to flush. Harry's anger rose at the comment, and the Slytherins were murmuring angrily. He stepped forwards aggressively,
"You best be keeping your opinions to yourself, Weasel." He sneered, "accusations like that could get you into a lot of trouble." Weasley opened his mouth to respond angrily, but was cut off by an irritated looking Blaise Zabini,
"Don't try and argue, Weasel, you lower the IQ of the population every time you speak." his voice was cool and Harry glanced at him appreciatively. The boy nodded slightly in his and Draco's direction, the latter of which was looking startled, though far from unhappy with the turn of events. The Slytherin's laughed at the words, though there was no real amusement behind it, they were merely showing solidarity before the Gryffindors, who were glaring daggers at them. Before the tension could bubble over the surface, leading to what would likely be a brawl to be remembered for years, Madam Hooch returned, ending the conflict and leaving nothing but bad feelings in it's wake.
Whilst the incident solidified the already semi-solid feud between Ronald Weasley and the three Slytherin boys, it also strengthened their friendship. The three had sat together at lunch, whispering to each other and glaring at Ron in a very secretive way as they plotted his punishment. The Weasley in question looked almost nervous as he glanced in their direction, though this emotion was mixed with a healthy level of Gryffindor bravado.
It was only when Halloween came to pass, however, that things took a turn from juvenile, to dangerous. The Halloween feast would have been a memorable affair without a troll venturing into the school, the hall was brilliantly decorated, and the candy available was more then Harry had ever seen in his life, yet, as Professor Quirrel charged into the room, spittle flying whilst he shrieked,
"Troll in the dungeons," his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he dramatically concluded, "Just thought you ought to know." before fainting, Harry deduced that this Halloween probably wasn't going to be a positive memory. This thought was quickly forgotten has he frantically turned and scanned the table,
"Nott's still in the dungeons!" Draco squeaked as Harry came to the same realisation,
"He never eats with us, so he's…" The two boys leapt to their feet, and Blaise, who had been watching them with some foreboding, reluctantly clambered up,
"Are we telling a teacher, or rescuing him like Gryffindors?" he asked, though from his tone it was clear he already knew the answer. At the lack of response from his friends, who were quickly moving towards the exit, he rolled his eyes, "why did I even ask?" he muttered to himself, before following. The three boys slid out of the door, rushing down several flights of stairs, panic spending their movement. Suddenly, Harry (who was the fastest) skidded to a halt, his shoes squeaking on the floor as he stopped. Draco ran into his back and Blaise quickly followed in an almost cartoon-like collision that sent the three tumbling to the floor. Just ahead of them, down the corridor, was a giant Troll. The smell hit them before the sight, and Harry let out a groan that could have been from the pain of being crushed under both of his friend's weight, or the nasty scent.
"It's going into the girls bathroom!" Draco said, clambering to his feet. Harry and Blaise followed suit and the three dashed to the entrance, trying not to gag at the stench. Wordlessly, they caught the doors behind the troll, and yanked them shut, before breathing out in relief,
"That was way easier then I thought it would be." Harry said, relief clear in his voice. They turned to walk away, when a high scream resounded from the bathroom.
"Darn it." Draco muttered, and Blaise let out some choice swear words, as they ran back to the door they had just vacated, throwing it open. A girl was crouched under a sink, her bushy hair hid most of her face but the Gryffindor tie was visible, a flash of scarlet in the grey rubble that was once a bathroom.
"Oh thank merlin." Draco said, "It's just a Gryffindor." he turned to leave.
"Draco!" Harry barked, the boy turned,
"It was just a joke!" he cried, and Blaise snorted,
"We need to distract it." was his only comment, "throw rocks and stuff." Harry nodded,
"Oy! Ugly!" he bellowed, throwing a chunk of sink at the troll, it bounced off his head and the beast turned to look at Harry with a slightly incredulous facial expression. The girl hadn't moved from her spot under the sink and Harry prayed she would get out soon, because the troll was looking at him with a decidedly unfriendly stare, "Come and get me you big, ugly Weasel!" he cried, throwing more rocks. The Troll swung it's club at him and Harry squealed. "Get her out of here!" he bellowed at his friends, Blaise nodded and ran around the troll, Draco followed Harry's lead and began throwing chunks of toilet seat at the troll, bellowing insults all the while. Harry realised with a jolt that Blaise and the Gryffindor were almost at the door,
"throw rocks at the wall behind it!" Draco suggested, calling to Harry from across the room, "Make some crashing sounds then we can leg it out." Harry nodded, and the two began rapidly throwing rocks at the wall behind the troll, who fell for the ploy hook, line, and sinker, turning and squaring up. Harry and Draco took their chance, pacing it to the door and slamming it shut behind them. Sighing in relief, Harry cracked his knuckles,
"On to Nott!" he said, before breaking into a run once more. Blaise and Draco ran after him,
"Wait!" called the Gryffindor girl, who still looked scared out of her wits, she glanced at the bathroom door behind her, which was slowly buckling under the weight of the troll's attack, before deciding to take her chances with her heroes, and followed the three boys on their quest.
To say Theodore Nott was surprised when Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and a Gryffindor girl burst into the boy's dormitory, covered in grime and shrieking him name in panic, was an understatement. Upon clearing his throat awkwardly, and being pulled into a three way hug (the girl stepped back, watching silently) he became beyond confused at the run of events,
"What's going on?" he asked, his roommates were looking at him with wide eyes,
"We thought you were going to be killed by a troll and the that you'd haunt us for being mean about you!" Draco snapped angrily. Harry nodded and Blaise rolled his eyes,
"A troll got set loose in the dungeons and these two," he nodded at Harry and Draco, "Decided to gain consciences, in the most Gryffindor rescue a Slytherin is capable of."
"Well, I'm fine…" Theodore said, though his ears were warming, "Who's the Gryffindor?" the three turned to look at the girl, who was staring at them with wide brown eyes,
"We don't actually know…" said Blaise, "We got her out of a bathroom with a troll in it."
"My name's Hermione Granger." she said quietly, as though afraid they would shout at her for speaking,
"Nice to meet you Ms Granger, I'm Harry Potter, this is Blaise Zabini, and this is Draco Malfoy." Harry said, gesturing to his friends, "Oh and that's Theodore Nott." he added as an afterthought, before turning back to Theodore,
"I don't want this to happen again, so, from now on, I am Harry, and you are Theodore." he said firmly to the boy, "We are friends so you have to eat with us, no more skipping food and needing rescuing from trolls." Theodore nodded dumbly, surprise numbing his reactions.
"Same for me." said Draco,
"and me." came Blaise. The Gryffindor cleared her throat awkwardly,
"What does it mean to call someone by their first name?" she asked, cheeks flushed at her lack of knowledge.
"Are you a muggle born?" Draco asked, a sneer tingling at the edges of his expression, the girl nodded, sticking out her jaw proudly without saying a word,
"Draco, can I lend her the book?" asked Harry, "I finished it." Draco nodded half heartedly, scowling. Harry grabbed the book on wizarding etiquette from his shelf, handing it to the girl,
"I was raised by muggles too." he said, with a grin, "calling someone by their first name is a sign of friendship and it's basically saying that you'll stand up for someone if they need your help. Read this." he said, the girl nodded, she opened her mouth to ask a question when-
"Why were you in the bathrooms, anyway?" Draco interrupted, rudely. The girl gave him a look which clearly said that she didn't like him very much, before answering,
"If you must know, I was upset because Ro- Weasley keeps insulting me for being better then him at magic." she said bitterly. Draco's sneer melted away from his face as he looked at the girl,
"Weasleys are a stain upon society." he said sombrely, "Don't worry about what he has to say, he wasn't sent to school so he doesn't know how to play nice." the girl laughed slightly,
"You guys aren't what everyone says Slytherins are." she said quietly, Blaise frowned,
"That's because Gryffindors hate us." he said, "The last war turned lots of people against Slytherin, though the prejudice was already there." The girl bit her lip, and Draco asked,
"Do you have friends in Gryffindor?" Hermione flushed, and didn't answer.
"Neville is in Gryffindor," Harry commented, "he's cool." Draco sent him a dirty look,
"But we're cooler. Hermione, you can call me by my first name." he said, decidedly, Harry, Blaise and Theodore looked surprised by the turn of events,
"Um, me too, I guess." Harry said, Blaise nodded before reluctantly agreeing, Theodore followed suit. The girl flushed, before smiling,
"Thank you, for saving my life, and for being my friends." she frowned, "Could someone instruct me on the way back to Gryffindor Tower though, I don't want a detention."
Once Hermione had left, Draco was placed under the magnifying-glass gaze of his roommates, he shifted uncomfortably,
"She's a muggleborn!" Blaise snapped, Draco opened his mouth to respond,
"Watch it, my mum was a muggleborn!" Harry cut in, "And I think Hermione seemed nice,"
"She may be nice but she had to have been ostracised from her own house for a reason!" Blaise said, Theodore watched the proceedings silently, unsure whether to chip in,
"Her being ostracised from Gryffindor is hardly a strike against her name." he said mildly, and Harry cast him a smile from his bed, "Though being a muggleborn is." Harry's smile evaporated.
"I thought you were on my team!" he muttered, Theo shrugged,
"My dad would kill me if he found out I was on first name basis with a muggle born." he said, Draco and Blaise paled, seemingly having just realised that they were in the same boat. Harry snorted,
"Just because they're your parent's prejudices doesn't mean they're yours too!" he said, "you were born with their blood, not their ideology." he nodded in approval of his seemingly profound statement, Draco scowled,
"I almost want to argue against myself to spite you, Harry." he shook his head, "I don't know what came over me, okay? I just hate Weasley so much and the idea of him bullying someone like her because she's more talented-"
"How do you know she wasn't lying about that?" Blaise asked, Theodore shook his head,
"She wasn't. Don't you guys pay any attention in class? She's the smartest girl in our year!" that shot Blaise's argument dead out of the water.
"It doesn't matter anyway." Harry said smugly, "We all said we were her friends already, there's no going back." the four boys lapsed into silence,
"How did you guys get past a troll anyway?" Theo asked, the boys were about to delve into their tale when the door to their dormitory banged open, revealing a furious Professor Snape,
"Where have you been?!" he bellowed, his students blinked up at him, and Draco put on the most innocent face he could muster,
"We've been in our beds sir, were we meant to be somewhere else?"
"Don't play games with me Mr Malfoy." Snape said, angrily, "I saw you all at the feast, why aren't you with your housemates?"
"Are you sure you were't hallucinating sir?" Blaise asked,
"What happened to your leg?" Harry asked in awe. The Potion's professor gave them a death glare,
"You watch yourselves, boys, otherwise you won't stay long at this school, even you, Mr Malfoy." he shook his head, "I know you were at the feast, so I won't bother explaining what has occurred to you all, but if I catch even the slightest hint that you are misbehaving in any way whatsoever, for the next few weeks, I'll have you pickling frogs eyes until you want to gouge out your own." and with that, and a swish of the man's cape, he was gone.
"How dramatic." Harry muttered, "Night folks." his farewell was echoed by his friends as he pulled the curtains around his bed shut and drifted into sleep.
Hey so I know this is really late. I accidentally deleted the file before uploading it and I didn't have the heart to type it up again. I'm sorry. I'll update again in the next two days or so. Please please please please review.
