Disclaimer: If Harry Potter belonged to me, it would not be famous.
Chapter 7: The Snake and the Lion
POV: Harry
Harry was having a great day. First off, he had really shown Malfoy what Gryffindors were made of, both by showing up to that faux duel and by escaping both Filtch and that three-headed dog, though Malfoy didn't need to know about the last one. Not to mention the fact that he, a first year, had succeeded in securing a spot on the Quidditch team on his first go on a broom. His delight was only furthered when the mail arrived and a large parcel was dropped in front of him with a note attached proclaiming it to be a Nimbus Two-Thousand.
Looking up at Ron, he grinned and was about to comment on how brilliant his day was going when he saw his sister throw her arms into the air and storm out of the Great Hall, Malfoy looking both frustrated and confused in her wake.
"Brilliant," Harry said. Could this day get any better?
"I know!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one. Can I have a go, Harry? After you of course."
"What? Oh, yea. Of course, mate," Harry stumbled over his words as he withdrew from his thoughts.
"So do you think we could go upstairs now to open it?" Ron asked eagerly. "I recon we have time before class starts."
Just then the clock chimed and Harry regretfully shook his head, "We have double Potions today. I really don't want to get on Snape's bad side by being late."
"Who cares what Snape thinks?" Ron asked, but relented that they could open the package during their break when they could actually fly it before Harry's first training with Oliver Wood.
As it turned out, Snape didn't need a reason to be angry with Harry. The class had hardly started when Harry, who was partnered with Lily Ann because she, to Harry's absolute delight, refused to work with Malfoy, lost points for talking too loudly ("I told you, Harry, there's nothing to get so excited about; it was just a misunderstanding.") and for deliberately sabotaging his own potion ("Getting spit into the cauldron is not going to help your grade, Harry.").
Even when Lily Ann wasn't buddying up with that snake, she still seemed to be able lecture him on being biased, and after the fifth time of her pointing out that not every wizard in Slytherin was bad ("What about Merlin, Harry? Do you think he was evil?"), Harry turned to his sister and snapped, "Just shut up, Lily. Merlin, you sound like Hermione sometimes."
Lily Ann narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "You know you could try being a bit nicer to her, you know. It can't be easy for her coming from a Muggle family into the Wizarding World without any friends. She's lucky her parents were even supportive of her."
Harry sighed, knowing what was coming next, "Lily, you can't relate everything back to the Dursleys."
Lily Ann bristled and immediately took the offensive, "I'm not. Our story is just the same as many other wizards; I'm facing the facts."
Harry wasn't convinced. She was being indoctrinated with all that Pureblood nonsense; the Dursley's aside, who wouldn't want magic in their lives?
Lily Ann broke through his thoughts and added, "Besides, that's not the point. Hermione could really use a friend, no matter who her parents are. At the very least you could be nicer to her."
At precisely that moment, Snape passed behind them, effectively cutting Harry's response short. Lily Ann turned away from him and started adding the next ingredients, completely ignoring the yelps of pain coming from Seamus' direction and Dean's swearing as he attempted to put out the fire that seemed to have consumed their cauldron. Any further conversation about the subject was quickly silenced with Lily Ann's step-by-step explanations of the proper way to brew various ingredients, something that she seemed to understand better than he did.
They continued in this fashion for the next five minutes, in which Lily Ann seemed to exhaust her knowledge of brewing spider legs (which she was now adding to their potion) and an awkward silence fell between the siblings.
"So," Harry said, after a minute of this, "What really is going on between you and Malfoy?"
Lily Ann cocked an eyebrow at him, "Really, Harry, I should be asking that of you. What's this I hear of a duel? If I find out that you started a duel with Draco because he's my friend, I swear that Merlin himself wouldn't be able to save you once I got through with you."
"What? I thought you of all people would know," Harry asked, surprised. At the glare shot his way, Harry quickly covered himself, "I mean, you're his friend; surely Draco would've told you that he challenged me to a duel last night, or are you not…" The rest of his words were cut off by the crash of smashing glass as Lily Ann's eyes flashed in anger at the implied message.
"Potter!"
Snape came billowing towards them, eyes flashing angrily. Glistening in the firelight was the remains of the vial that Lily Ann had been measuring the essence of lacewing in. The slime was now splattered up both of their robes.
"Mr. Potter, how could you be so careless? That will be ten points from Gryffindor."
"But, sir!"
"Be grateful it's not more, Mr. Potter. I expect you to stay after to clean this mess you've created."
"But Professor, it wasn't…"
"You'd better get yourself cleaned up, Miss Potter. I will not stand for an unkempt appearance amongst the Slytherin house."
"But…"
"You are dismissed, Miss Potter."
POV: Lily Ann
Walking away from the classroom, Lily Ann could hear the buzz of excitement as class ended and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. It the last class on a Friday afternoon and Harry wouldn't be able to enjoy it because she had let her emotions get away from her. The twins had said that Harry had gotten a new broomstick and, knowing her brother, he would be itching to try it out immediately.
"Hey, Lily Ann!" A voice called from behind her, interrupting her thoughts, "Wait up!"
Slowing her pace, Lily Ann turned to see Hermione Granger run to catch up to her. Hermione's bushy hair was still on end from the fumes of all the cauldrons and a slight pink tinged her cheeks.
"I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me like that. No one's ever done that for me before; not even back in primary school.
Lily Ann shrugged, "I'm just tired of Harry forgetting that we're not the only ones who don't have a supportive family. Lots of problems can come from that and he seems to think that everyone else had the perfect life while we suffered in the dumps. Well, Harry got the brunt of it, but still."
Hermione smiled, "I agree with you on that, though I have to admit that I never would've thought that your family wasn't supportive of you. You're so good at magic that I thought that surely they were helping you in some way to get a head start before school started; my parents did the moment Professor McGonagall came to explain everything." As was Hermione's custom, she said all this very fast, as if she would run out of time to say all the things she wished to say.
Lily Ann smiled, slightly embarrassed, "I wouldn't say I'm that good at magic; from what I hear, you're good at everything."
And with that, the two of them went off talking about classes, culture change and magic. Neither of them knew it, but this would mark the first time that a Slytherin became best friends with a Gryffindor since Lily Potter and Severus Snape.
Having Hermione as a friend was one of the best things that had happened to Lily Ann since she had arrived at Hogwarts. While Hermione was slightly anal in regards to homework, not to mention rules, the two of them had many of the same interests, both having been raised in the muggle world. There was also the added bonus that Hermione, being a muggleborn, would never have that ridiculous Blood Purity ingrained in her, making for a refreshing change. Whenever Lily Ann found the medieval thinking of the Slytherins to be too stifling, Lily Ann would make her way to the library, the most likely location to find Hermione at any given moment.
But several weeks after the two of them had become friends, Lily Ann was having difficulty finding Hermione. She wasn't in the library and, according to Madame Pince, hadn't been seen there since the day before. She wasn't waiting outside the staffroom, a habit she had picked up since their very first test when she thought she had missed question twenty-seven b about correct spell pronunciation, and she wasn't in the Great Hall for lunch. In fact, when Lily Ann interrogated Neville after her afternoon classes, the last time Hermione had been seen at all was right after charms class earlier that morning.
"I didn't see why," Neville added as Lily Ann turned away from the Fat Lady's portrait that Neville was leaning out of, "But she looked really upset. Do you think you could convince her to come to the feast? She's the only one who will sit next to me and I don't want to sit alone during the Halloween feast; I hear Fred and George are planning something big this year."
With that knowledge, Lily Ann left, having a fair idea where she could find Hermione. Where other girls would dramatically storm away to their dorms and make a general scene when they were upset, Hermione was never one to call attention to herself and always kept her head held high. She was a proud girl, and Lily Ann knew that something must've shaken her pride today badly enough that she would've fled to the one place that no one would be able to see her lose her composure: Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Upon arrival, the first thing Lily Ann noticed was the absence of Myrtle, which meant that either Hermione had annoyed Myrtle enough with her own tears that she flown down the toilet, or that the Ravenclaw Head Boy was in the prefects' bathroom.
"Hermione?" Lily Ann called, creeping in through the doors, "Hermione, I know you're in here!"
For a moment, the only sound was that of the dripping pipes and then came the muffled response, "Go away!"
Becoming further determined to get to the root of all this, Lily Ann inched towards the stall from which Hermione's voice had come, and gently teasing asked, "Is that how you treat your best friend?"
A slight click came from the stall as Hermione unlocked the door at her words. Her eyes were red from tears and her bottom lip quivered as she whispered, "I don't have any friends." She then threw herself into Lily Ann's arms as she began sobbing again.
Lily Ann was shocked. Never had Hermione even once hinted that she was unhappy at Hogwarts or even that she wasn't making any other friends in her house. Lily Ann mentally berated herself. She should have seen it in the way she only ever studied alone and ate meals at the speed of light, but Lily Ann had just assumed that that was just how Hermione was and left it at that.
Not knowing what else to do, Lily Ann squeezed Hermione tight and said, "Sure you do – you've got me, don't you? And what about Neville? Whoever gave you such an idea?"
Sniffling, Hermione rubbed her eyes to clear them of tears and slid down the wall, "Ronald. After charms, I overheard him talking to Harry about me. He called me an insufferable know it all… he said that it was no wonder that you were my only friend." She stopped and laughed through her sob, "And he was right, wasn't he? You are my only friend, and you're friends with everyone."
Lily Ann blinked in surprise, "Not everyone."
"Everyone who wants to be. And you're loyal to each and every one of them. I heard how you stood up for that Hufflepuff girl when Stephen Cornfoot called her fat, and how Wayne Hopkins ended up in the Hospital Wing."
Lily Ann tried to protest, but found herself being interrupted by Hermione. "You're my best friend, Lily, and I'm glad you are. I never thought I could ever have a best friend. I guess what is really getting me down is that I haven't heard from my parents for weeks because it's so hard for them to get an owl. I was already feeling pretty down when I heard Ron, and I guess it just really struck home how alone I am."
Lily Ann sat down next to Hermione and gave her a quick hug, "You're not alone, Hermione. I'm right here whenever you need me. And if Ronald ever gives you any trouble, just come to me. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve that will make him wish that you were his best friend. As for your parents, I'll just send Twilight down that way every now and then; he's got nothing better to do. I have no one to write to – don't know what Hagrid was thinking when he got me that owl – and he'd love it. It'll make him feel important.
Hermione have her a watery smile and said, "Thanks, Lily. You're the best."
"I know," Lily Ann smiled. "Now let's get you cleaned up before we head down to the feast. Neville wants you to sit with him; he's the one who told me you'd been missing all day."
Hermione suddenly looked horror-struck. "I've missed all day? Oh, no! Professor McGonagall said that today would be particularly important! I'll bet everything we learned today will be on the final exam! Oh, no, I'm going to fail everything!"
Because Hermione looked about to bolt to find the nearest teacher, Lily Ann put a calming hand on her shoulder to stay her.
"Calm down, Hermione; you'll be fine. I'm sure that Professor… what was that?"
Coming from directly outside the door, the pair could hear low grunting noises along with a steadily growing grating sound, as if something very heavy were being dragged across the floor. As the noise grew louder, the door seemed to emit an unworldly stench that made both of them gag.
Pressing their ears to the door to better listen, Lily Ann whispered again, "What is that?"
Listening for a moment, Hermione paled and whispered, "I have a theory… but it's mad." She paused a moment as she listened further, "I mean, who in their right minds would let a… move!"
Hermione dove at Lily Ann, pushing her out of the way of the door moments before it burst open with a loud, hollow bang. In its place swung a very large, knobbly club, and holding onto that club was a…
"Hermione?" Lily Ann whispered, wide eyed. "In the wizarding world, is there such thing as a…"
"Troll." Hermione breathed.
The troll was enormous. And though Lily Ann had never met a giant, she felt that if she did, it would probably smell better than this thing did; she was feeling a bit woozy just standing there. Judging by Hermione's watering eyes, she was fairing no better. Its grey skin and trousers were filthy, and the little hair that was on its head looked as if a bottle of oil had been dumped all over it, though there was so little that one could almost say that he was bald.
Both girls looked on in horror as the creature journeyed further into the bathroom, effectively pushing them further back and away from the only exit.
"Hermione, now would be the time for some of your brilliant wand work," Lily Ann hissed out of the corner of her mouth, barely moving her lips as they slowly moved towards the back.
But Hermione shook her head, eyes wide, revealing her open hands. She didn't have her wand. Lily Ann frantically searched her own robes for her wand and remembered that she had left it on her bed with her bags when she went looking for Hermione.
The troll swung his club clumsily at them, missing them completely but hitting the stalls to their left. Hermione screamed as splinters went flying everywhere and Lily Ann ducked and covered her face as another stall exploded under the force of the club.
At the point where there was literally nowhere left to run, Lily Ann heard a voice coming from behind the troll, "Oy, pea-brain!"
"Where have you been?" Were the first words Lily Ann heard as she walked into the common room.
Blaise smirked and nudged Draco, "Malfoy here thought you had gotten eaten by the troll."
Lily Ann laughed nervously, "Well…"
POV: The Dark Lord
The Dark Lord was angry, very angry, and the only person in the world who knew about it was the pathetic, weak half-blood Quirinus Quirrell. While it truly would have been poetic justice for his triumphant return to be on the anniversary of his fall, the execution of it was lacking the brilliance promised by the Ravenclaw. This only further proved to the Dark Lord what he had known for so long: Brilliance didn't come from book smarts and wit, but from the cunning desire of those worthy of it.
Quirrell had thought he was so clever, letting in the troll to distract the staff from the third floor. But even Snape had seen through that ruse and reached the third floor before they had. At least with that mistake the traitorous bat had proven his value by revealing for them the first defense for the Stone was.
And the troll itself proved to be ineffective as well. Not only did it fail as a distraction, it failed to crush the Potter brats who had made him into the parasite that he was. All of these failures led to a very displeased Lord and meant suffering for all. Soon enough that would be the Potter brats, but for now, he would have to settle for the tormenting of his puppet. He was due for a little... incentive.
A/N: Well guys, what did you think? Now that Hermione and Lily Ann are friends, Lily can go anywhere without just being the tagalong sister. But can also get out of it by being with her other friends.
Any suggestions?
Until next time, I'm HiddenReaderNinja.
