Chapter Eighteen.

Halloween.

Waking up, I felt myself filled with anger at the thought of Draco Malfoy and I was so satisfied by the look on his when Ron and Draco walked into the Great Hall whilst Draco and the rest of the Slytherins sat eating. Mae was still in a mood with Pansy and for the first time since starting Hogwarts, Pansy felt like the outsider. Mae and I laughed, joked and compared timetables. I can see by Ron and Harry's intense talking that Harry had came to the same conclusion as I had that previous night however Hermione didn't seem the least bit interested and sat there pushing her porridge about with a spoon looking miserable but I assume Ron was probably pleased about that as he thinks she is a know-it-all which I suppose is true, Hermione was incredibly cleaver and Ron feels intimidated by it.

Soon, the owls flood into the Great Hall shrieking like normal as they search for their owners or who the letters or parcels are addressed too however everyone's eyes are glued on the long thin parcel being carried by six small owls one being Hedwig, then it was dropped on the table in front of Harry with a note attached. Thankfully the Gryffindor table was practically empty. Hermione, Ronald and Harry all rip open the parcel to reveal a beautiful wooden broomstick.

First years aren't allowed broomstick, I think but then suddenly, a parcel lands in my lap which had been carried by Misty who wants a reward, so with permission from Mae, I give her a little bit of bacon to say thank you. Then I take off the note from on top of the parcel, which is good because the note read:

DO NOT OPEN THIS PARCEL AT THE TABLE.

It contains a time-turner, both you and Miss Granger have proved that you are more than willing to achieve fantastic educations and as of Third Year,

I am willing to allow both you and Hermione to take three extra classes with the help of this magical item.

Please keep this safe and concealed and as of the end of Second Year, we will discuss extra classes.

Professor M. McGonagall.

I see Hermione reading the same letter before looking over at me with a twinkle in her eyes. I smirked at my parcel before putting it gently in my bag fighting the impulse to open it just to see what it looks like but as I look up at McGonagall who is petting Hedwig, I smile as she gives me a rare smile back. Mae then suggest we go to Charms, I agree but quickly pass my brother to have a look at broomstick, it was beautiful, sleek and shiny. Harry then informs me that he has his first Quidditch lesson at seven tonight.

When Mae and I arrive at Charms, Draco and his minions are already there lent up against the stone walls of the corridor waiting for Flitwick to open the door and let us enter. When Harry and Ron arrive after putting the broomstick safety into the dormitory, Draco doesn't waste any time in tormenting Harry about having a broomstick and Ron tells Draco with confidence that the broomstick isn't an old broomstick but in fact a Nimbus Two Thousand – the broomstick made.

"What would you know about it, Weasley!" Draco hisses at Ron, I step forward defensively, "You couldn't afford half a handle, I suppose you and your brothers have to save up, twig by twig."

Hermione, Mae and I all gasp at the evilness that Draco has just said which makes him furrow his brows in confusion and I almost lunge forward myself but Ron beats me too it but thankfully Harry and I snatch his arms just in time before Professor Flitwick opens the door to appear at Draco's elbow. "Not arguing, I hope." he squeaked before seating us.

The lesson carried on like usual, Hermione and Mae sit beside me. Draco sits opposite us burning daggers into Harry and Ron's face whilst occasionally giving Hermione killer looks. By the end of class, everyone was able to make their feather float. Hermione and myself got ten points for our house because we both made our feathers float first.

The rest of the day went by in a boring blur but as every hour passed, I could see Harry getting more and more anxious, throughout dinner, I kept looking over to see Harry nibbling at food whilst another Gryffindor sat opposite him, he was older with sharp features and brown short hair. Dinner usually finished about seven therefore Harry came over and said goodbye about half six before I was finished, I wished him good luck and then he left the Great Hall to fetch his broomstick and put on some more comfortable clothes.

With a smirk on my lips as Draco's eyes followed my brother from the hall, I returned back to my food happily.

LINE BREAKER.

I wasn't sure if it was the happiness that surged through me every morning I woke up to pull on my uniform, gather my magical books, adventure down to breakfast before sitting in lessons to learn magic or the fact I hadn't spent any time with Harry the last three days because of Quidditch practise with Oliver Wood, I could hardly believe that I had been attending Hogwarts for two months. The castle felt more like home than the Dursley's or Privet Drive every did and my lessons were becoming even more interesting now that I had mastered the basics.

I had always enjoyed Halloween in the muggle world, the idea of dressing up to pretend to be something your not, I think to all the little girls and boys dressing up as witches and wizards, knowing that I don't need to pretend made me smile and on Halloween morning, I woke up to the smell of baking pumpkins wafting through the corridors. Mae had brought some fake spiders and handed me one so whilst Pansy was still asleep, we placed one on her face and the other in her hair. And then we waited for the screams as we slowly got dressed. Mae said that the older Slytherins were planning on having a Halloween party in a secret location and only Fourth Years and older can attend.

"AHH!" we then heard the screams of Pansy as we brush our teeth in the room just off our room, the room only appeared when we need it. We both dart back into the bedroom to see Pansy desperately trying to get the plastic spider out of her hair, Mae and I laugh ourselves into hysteric.

The Great Hall was decorated beautiful with floating pumpkins with glowing faces and bats decorating the walls with spider webs. The corridors were decorated slightly similar but less exaggerated than the Great Hall which would look amazing tonight when the true effects were revealed. Mae and I sat and ate breakfast whilst Pansy seemed incredibly angry at us for the spider prank but she seemed to have forgiven us by the end of breakfast when she had told Draco and Blaise about it who laughed and high-fived us about the idea.

The days has blurred together so much that I didn't realise I had charmed again today, it had become one of my favourite lessons however having it twice a week seemed a bit to much but with everyone in our class able to make a feather float, Professor Flitwick decided we were all ready to start making actual objects fly which excited us all until Flitwick announced that he decided we were to be in partners but he had already picked the pairs which only disappointed us however Ron became devastated when he discovered he was paired with Hermione but it was hard to tell whether Hermione or Ron was angrier about this, I let out a sign to find I had been paired with Draco whilst Harry partner was Seamus – who liked to accidentally blow stuff up but between him and Neville, I think Harry would of chosen combustion over Neville. Tracy was partnered with Blaise whilst Neville was forced to work with Pansy.

Professor Flitwick handed out pillows to the pairs, and those who comfortably levitated their item first was given something more difficult to levitate. I watched the others as Draco attempted to move the pillow first, I watched Seamus swish and flick his wand in perfect motion whilst saying the words only for the pillow to remain motionless, he then only had to prod the pillow with his wand and it set fire – Harry had to put it out with his hat whilst Flitwick handed them a new pillow and suggested Harry goes first.

Draco gave up after not being able to levitate the pillow and told me to try. I signed heavily and swish and flicked my wand carefully before speaking the spell words clearly, "Wingardium Leviosa." and the pillow gently began to float from its place on the desk. Draco stared at me in amazement which made me blush.

"Well done Miss Potter!" Professor Flitwick gushed clapping his small hands before I dropped the pillow back on the desk encouraging Draco to try again. He signed heavily but didn't argue which confused me and just as he spoke the words, that's when I hear Hermione's voice.

"You're saying it wrong!" she insists as Ron shouts the spell. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the "gar" nice and long" she replies gently.

Ron went a beetroot colour as everyone turned to stare at the pair, "You do it then if your so clever!" he spits.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her robes, flickered her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" And their pillow rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads. Professor Flitwick congratulated Hermione loudly in front of the glass which made Ron grow angrier and angrier and by the end of the lesson, Ron was in the worst mood I had ever witnessed, it was worse then Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia all mixed together, his face was redder than his hair and his eyebrows furrowed as he stormed out of the classroom with Harry, Ron, Seamus and Thomas.

I waited for Hermione after Charms but she refused therefore I walked with Mae and Pansy towards our next lesson and we weren't far behind the group of boys and Ron was talking nastily about Hermione but it wasn't in a hushed voice so everyone around him could hear. "It's no wander no one can stand her!" Ron snarled as they pushed through the crowded corridor, "She's a nightmare, honestly!" That is when Hermione stormed past me and the others before knocking into Ron. I sign heavily because there was no hope that she hadn't heard Ron.

"I think she heard you!" Pansy said loudly towards Ron with a grin on her face.

Ron turned to look at the Slytherin, "So?" he said without looking the least bit uncomfortable, "She must've realised she has no friends."

Pansy laughed at Ron's comment, I look at Mae who has the same awkward look on her face but we don't say anything and I fight the impulse to run after Hermione because I know that she wants to be alone but I do expect her to show up in the next lesson but she doesn't turn up and wasn't seen for the rest of the afternoon however walking towards the Great Hall I hear Parvati tell some girl named Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' toilet and wanted to be left alone, Ron didn't care however Harry looked a little put off, but the moment later, we had all entered the Great Hall where the full Halloween decorations were put up which stripped Hermione from their minds.

It had completely changed since this morning, thousands of living bats fluttered around madly swooping close to the tables whilst black cloaked figures flew about making ghostly noises, also in the air was floating candles and pumpkins that laugh like a maniac. Everything hovers at different heights. Once everyone was seated, the food appeared in front of us like it had at the beginning of the term and we all filed our golden plates and ate as much as we could. And even after twenty minutes, Hermione hadn't entered the hall and I was beginning to get worried.

I get up and tell Mae I'm going to the bathroom and to grab me a piece of pumpkin pie – which I had never tried before – if dessert is served before I come back. I left the Great Hall normally not to draw attention to myself, as I walk away I cross paths with Professor Quirrell who greets me pleasantly. Then I break into a gentle run towards the bathroom Hermione was purposely hiding in.

Hermione couldn't of picked a worse bathroom to hide in but I guess no one would come looking for her. The bathroom was close to the dungeons on the lower levels of the castle so the state of the room wasn't exactly a surprise, the entrance to the bathroom was a large stone archway which comes into a small area between the ten fall stalls made of green painted oak., the walls from the floor to six foot up was made of white tiles, on the left wall before the entrance to the one shower available was a rack where one deserted towel hung. Opposite the stalls on the wall was five marble sinks with dirty, rusting mirrors on the wall.

nine of the ten stalls were open leaving no real question where Hermione was hiding. I approach the second door from the left silently as Hermione continued to let out whimpers of tears before sniffing, blowing her nose and starting the process again. My heart sinks a little, in primary school I didn't have many friends – except Jude the lunch lady and having to live with the Dursley's didn't make me feel welcome either – so in some twisted way, I kind of knew how Hermione felt.

I knock on the large oak door, "Hermione?" I question.

There is a hiccup followed by a snotty sniff, "Go away Grace," a shrivelled voice say in a small voice.

Letting out a gentle sign, I knock again, "Come out, Hermione." I say encouragingly.

"No!" Hermione suddenly growls.

"You're not going to achieve anything by hiding in a toilet," I reply with a little snap whilst furrowing my brows, I understand that Hermione wanted to be left alone but I wasn't going to leave her, she believes that she doesn't have any friends but that's a lie, I told her that no matter what house I was in, I would be Hermione's friend no matter what. Hermione let out a loud huff from behind the oak door and refused to open it, "Well I'm not leaving," I say defiantly leaning up against the door using my right arm facing the back of the bathroom. Then I began to hum the most annoying tune I could think of knowing how irritating it was going to become for Hermione who wanted to be left alone.

After no longer than five minutes, Hermione spoke, "You're really going to stay until I come out?" she asks.

I nod, even though she cannot see me, "I said I wasn't going to leave."

Hermione sniffed, "Why though?" she questions.

Grinning softly, "I promised I would be your friend, don't listen to Ron, he's an idiot."

Without warning, Hermione opened the door causing me to loose balance with resulting in me falling into her, thankfully though, the Gryffindor grabbed me. I regained my balance and stood in front of her as Hermione wiped her tear wet cheeks with a little grin, but then she looked past me, her smile collapsed.

"What's wrong?" I ask but that's when I noticed the smell, it was disgusting worse than the toilet; a mixture of rotting food and the stench from the girls toilet. And that's when we heard it – a low grunt and the shuffling of steps of gigantic feet and some sort of dragging. Hermione's face went white, her eyes glued behind me.

I turned around confused to see the most hideous sight, whatever the hell this creature was, it was twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull grey with a lump body like a boulder with a small bald head sitting on its shoulder's like a coconut and its short legs are thicker than trees. The smell coming from the creature was awful and enough to make me feel sick. It was holding a huge wooden club which resting on the floor because its arm was far too long. I stare from its feet to its head, the creature was covered in warts with only two toes of which the nails were overgrown.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I make eye contact with the creature causing him to grunt at Hermione and myself. My heart picks up pace as I begin to step backwards knocking into Hermione in the process but this causes the thing in front of us to growl before stepping towards us, the ground shakes slightly but soon, Hermione and I are pressed up against the outside of the toilet stall.

"What is it?" I whisper almost inaudible.

"A troll." she replies in a shaky voice.

As the troll moves towards us dragging the heavy club, I grab Hermione's hand and drag her into the third toilet stall, then suddenly the loud noise of tumbling wood echoed, Hermione let out a scream as we fell to the dirty tiled floor covering our heads. Wood and dust crumble on top of us, masking our figures. Suddenly, the loud bang of the bathroom door slammed open, Hermione and I moved the wood from our heads to see Harry and Ron running into the room.

"Grace move!" Harry yells, Hermione and I scuttle across the floor, underneath the other stalls but the troll drives its club through the few stalls still standing strong. Hermione let out another yelp but I seemed vocally paralysed with terror.

Harry and Ron begin throwing pieces of wood at the troll, attempting to distracted and soon, it works and the troll takes its focus off trying to crush Hermione and myself long enough for us to crawl out of the mess of the destroyed stalls. The troll then turns its focus back to us as we crawl beneath the skin, it throws its wooden club through the marble sink, Hermione just about manages to move to avoid being hit.

"Help!" Hermione screams at the boys, her screams only seem to make the troll more focused on crushing us.

Then, Harry did something incredibly stupid: he took a great running jump and managed to clasp his arms around the club, as the troll lifted its club up, Harry dropped to wrap his legs around the creatures neck from behind. The troll noticed Harry's presence and begins to throw his head about trying to knock Harry off or catch him with a deadly blow with the club, Harry suddenly stuck his wand right up the trolls nose causing it to groan and cough.

And then, I watched the troll snatch my brothers leg, Harry was dangling in the air by his foot as the troll suddenly tries to beat my brother with the club.

"Do something!" Harry exclaims to Ron.

Ron just kind of raised his arms up in a questioning motion, "What?"

Harry hoisted his head to his feet to avoid the potential hits from the club. "Anything!"

I watched as Ron removed his wand from his robes, I look at Hermione who nods over to Ron who looks at her, almost for help, Hermione motions the 'swish-and-flick' perfectly and we watched as Ron did the spell, well... perfectly.

The club flew from the trolls hand, it rose higher and higher into the air before dropping onto the trolls face. There is a sickening crack and the troll began to sway dangerous, it dropped my brother who scrambled to safety beside Ron. Then, we all watched the troll fall flat on its face with a thud that made the entire room tremble.

Hermione and I got to our feet as we climb out from beneath the sinks, Harry was catching his breath but then suddenly, he launched himself on me, clutching me in a tight hug. However it was Hermione who actually spoke first.

"Is it – dead?"

Harry releases me, "No, just knocked out." And then he bent down to pull his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in light green and grey slim with little lumps.

"Eww, troll boogies!" I exclaim trying to lighten the situation but then suddenly, the loud slamming of footsteps approached making the four of us all look up. Non of us had realised the what a racket we had been making but of course, someone downstairs, possibly in the Slytherin common room, heard the crashes and troll roars.

A moment later, Professor McGonagall comes bursting into the room, closely followed by my head of house, Professor Snape and Quirrell, Harry quickly informs me that it was Professor Quirrell was the one who discovered the troll but then I think back to walking past the Dark Arts teacher who looked so calm and collective. Quirrell lets out a faint whimper as Snape's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Harry and I whilst McGonagall's facial features didn't change, she was taking in the entire scene before looking at all of us.

"Explain yourselves immediately!" Professor McGonagall demanded pointing at Harry and Ron, I give a confused look to Hermione, of course it seemed logical for the teachers to assume the boys where behind the scene instead of Hermione and I who work incredibly hard in lesson. I can see the boys gasping for air almost as they try to explain, Snape is staring at then with white hot hatred whilst McGonagall remains strong standing in expecting an answer and whilst Professor Quirrell just stared at the troll in disbelief.

"Why aren't you in the safety of the dormitory, Miss Potter?" Snape suddenly asks me but I'm still completely frozen in terror however Snape doesn't question me any further.

"It was my fault, Professors." Hermione suddenly said taking us all by surprise. The Professors all turn their heads towards Hermione's staring in completely confusion. Harry, Ron and myself share in the teachers disbelief and turn to stare at her. "I went looking for the troll, I read about them and thought I could handle it but I was wrong –"

"What are you doing down here, Grace?" Professor McGonagall asks me, Snape attempts to explain my silence but there was really no need because Hermione had an answer for that as well.

"Grace noticed my absence at dinner and came looking for me but if Harry and Ron hadn't shown up, we both would have been killed." Hermione says. The Professors remain in their shocked state, that's when I notice blood on the floor by the teachers but looking around, neither Harry, Ron, Hermione or myself are bleeding, then I notice Snape's leg was cut.

"Be that as it may be," Professor McGonagall started, "It was an incredibly foolish thing to do, I would of expected more rational behaviour on your part Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor. Miss Potter, I understand that the unexpected absence of a friend is worrying but if there was any indication that Miss Granger had left due to a problem you should of informed a teacher."

I nod whilst the boys and Hermione understand that they have lost points.

"The points are taken because of Miss Granger's serious lack of judgement." Professor McGonagall explains before she takes a long soothing breath, "However, I just hope you all realise how fortunate you are, not many first year students can take on a fully grown Mountain Troll and live to tell the tale." she says staring at primarily, Ron, Harry and myself, "Five points... will be awarded to each of you, for sheer dumb luck!" she almost hisses before turning away from us.

Professor Quirrell lingers for a moment, gesturing for the four of us to leave, "Come on, you might want to leave in case he wakes up." he tells us with his stutter, Harry grabs my hand as we walk out of the now destroyed girl's toilet. Hermione smiles at me and when we came to the corridor where I am expected to turn one way, Hermione pulls me into a hug, whispering thank yous in my ear before pulling away.

"Now, you two, need to realise that your friends," I tell Ron and Hermione, Harry nods in agreement with me, "Despite how much you annoy each other, that's what best friends do." I insist.

Harry nods, "It's true, sometimes I want to lock Grace up in a cupboard but I love her, she's my best friend as well as my sister."

Ron and Hermione smile nervously at each other before hugging. I bid the others good night before following the commands of Snape to go to the common room. Hermione says she will wait for me outside the Great Hall tomorrow for breakfast. I cannot stop smiling as I climb into bed that night with a cup of hot chocolate Pansy had made up.

Hermione Granger had become Ron and Harry's friend, there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and hiding under a sink whilst helping the boys knock out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

A/N: I do realise that this chapter is both similar to the book and the films but I found it difficult to change the chapter without missing important bit, so apologises for that. I hope you've enjoyed this, I'm really sorry about how long I have left it to update this story, please comment and tell me what you think about this chapter. Favourite and Follow if you want to keep on reading.