Chapter 3: Halloween
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Total Words: 11,942

Hermione spent the next morning avoiding Harry, Ron, and Neville, too, just for good measure. She refused to speak to them either, and had pushed both the dog and the trapdoor from her mind completely, preferring to focus on her studies.

Her silence was really tested, however, when she saw six owls carrying a long, thin package to Harry. It looked like it was a broomstick, and she knew first-years weren't allowed to have them. She didn't have a chance at the table to say anything, however; the two boys left excitedly, presumably to go to Gryffindor tower and open it. She finished her breakfast and began to head back to the tower to do some extra homework.

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" She said once she had caught up with Harry and Ron. She eyed the package disapprovingly.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" Harry said. Hermione felt herself go slightly pink.

"Yes, don't stop now, it's doing us so much good." Ron chimed in. Hermione walked away, going up to the girls' dormitories to bury her nose in Quidditch Through the Ages, a book she had just borrowed from the library. Although she wasn't particularly a sports fan, she was enjoying learning about the rules and the history of the game.

...

Halloween came up frighteningly fast. Between classes and homework, Hermione had hardly noticed how fast the time was going. She also realized that she hadn't written to her parents yet so that morning before class, she sat down to write a letter.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I love it here at Hogwarts. I'm learning so much! Professor Flitwick, our Charms teacher, has finally said we can start learning how to make objects fly - this is something that I've been looking forward to since I read about it over the summer. I'm very glad I memorized all of our books; it has helped me do well in all of my classes. All of my teachers like me, except Professor Snape (he's the Potions Master,) but he doesn't seem to like anyone from my House.

I don't have much time since I'm about to go to Charms, but I'll write again soon! I hope you two are doing well and enjoying yourselves.

Love from,
Hermione

She barely had time to dash up to the owlery and send her letter before class started and made it just in time for Professor Flitwick to begin speaking.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing! Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

Much to Hermione's chagrin, she and Ron were paired up at the same table to work on the spell. Ron wasn't doing much better than the rest of the class; nobody seemed to quite get the hang of it.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He shouted at the feather they were supposed to be working with, waving his arms wildly. Hermione frowned.

"You're saying it wrong. It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o -sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." She said snappishly.

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron shot back. Hermione straightened up in her seat, rolled her sleeves back, and held her wand up.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" She cried. The feather rose off of the desk and hovered several feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done! Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" Professor Flitwick said happily, clapping his hands. It did nothing to improve Ron's mood and he was in a temper by the end of the class. As they all packed up and made their way through the crowded corridor, Hermione overheard Ron speaking to Harry.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly."

Tears prickling her eyes, Hermione pushed past them, accidentally knocking into Harry but not stopping to apologize or acknowledge him. She just wanted some peace and quiet, and maybe a good cry. She was just trying to help and didn't understand how they didn't see that. She found herself in the girls' bathroom and locked herself in a stall, finally letting the tears flow freely. She didn't have any friends to care whether she was gone or not either, so she decided to skip the next class and wait to return until she felt better.

A girl walked in and she quickly tried to quiet herself, hiccupping a couple of times and sniffling but trying to remain anonymous.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked; it was Parvati, the one who had spoken up for Neville during their first flying lesson.

"Fine. I just want to be left alone," Hermione said as steadily as she could, but even she could hear the tears threatening to spill out again. Parvati left and she was alone once again. She knew it was late enough that she was missing the feast now, but she didn't care. The fact that Ron had said she was "a nightmare" had bothered her so deeply; it was just like the people at her Muggle schools. They just didn't understand how passionate she was about educating herself. She didn't want to be stupid... that was the worst thing someone could be.

There was the sound of something large outside of the bathroom and Hermione froze; that didn't sound like a student, or even one of the teachers. Had the giant dog gotten free? She didn't dare open the stall to see. Whatever it was brought a terrible smell with it... oh, no. It smelled like the trolls that she had read about in one of her books. But what was it doing in the castle? She had better leave before it found her - she left the stall and had just turned around when it happened.

All of a sudden, the door to the girls' bathroom was slammed shut and she heard the lock click.

Oh, no, now I'm locked in with it! She thought, staring at the troll. It was about twelve feet tall with dull grey skin and a small bald head perched on top of a giant, bolder-like body. In one of its giant hands was a club that was easily twice the size of Hermione. She screamed in terror; her throat seemed to be the only part of her body that was working.

Just a moment later, both Harry and Ron burst through the door. Hermione was now up against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible, while the troll advanced towards her, knocking the sinks off of the wall. She thought she might faint at any moment.

"Confuse it!" She heard Harry yell and saw a tap flying through the air and hitting the wall. The troll paused and looked around rather stupidly, trying to figure out what had made the noise.

"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron yelled this time, throwing a metal pipe and hitting its shoulder. The troll didn't even notice the pipe but turned towards Ron's voice. Harry ran towards Hermione.

"Come on, run, run!" He said to her, grabbing her hand and trying to pull her to the door; Hermione couldn't move. It felt as if she had been petrified with fear. She could feel the panic rising up and freezing her muscles while the room began to go dark. The troll was becoming confused by all the yelling and movement and went for Ron again, who had no way to get away.

Harry surprised Hermione by running up behind the troll and jumping up, grabbing onto its neck. She couldn't believe he would do something so stupid! When he jumped, he still had his wand in his hand and it had lodged itself in the troll's nose. Hermione's legs had gone numb and she was now sitting on the floor, watching with wide, scared eyes at what was unfolding in front of her. The troll began to howl with pain, twitching and flailing its club; Harry was holding on for dear life; and then she heard Ron.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He cried. The club flew out of the troll's hand and hovered in the air for a moment before falling onto the troll's head with a crack that made Hermione shiver. It swayed on the spot and fell flat on its face, making the whole room tremble with the weight of it. Hermione was glad to see that both Harry and Ron were okay and had managed to avoid being squashed, and it took her a minute to find her own voice.

"Is it - dead?" She asked finally.

"I don't think so. I think it's just been knocked out." Harry pulled his wand out of the troll's nose as he spoke. There was a disgusting-looking goo that it was covered in. "Ugh - troll boogers," he said, wiping it on the troll's trousers.

A slamming and loud, hurried footsteps made the three of them jump and look up. Professor McGonagall rushed into the room, followed by Professors Snape and Quirrell. The latter whimpered and sat down on the toilet, clutching his heart. Professor Snape bent over to make sure the troll wasn't going to wake up while McGonagall had turned white with fury; Hermione had never seen her lips go so thin. Her heart sank... they were in much deeper trouble than she could have thought.

"What on earth were you thinking of? You're really lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Hermione wished Ron would put his wand down already; the Professor was angry enough without that. Harry looked at the floor as Professor McGonagall's eyes swept over him, closely followed by Professor Snape's.

"Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me." Hermione didn't know what made her say it... perhaps it was just the fact that they were trying to help her, and she didn't want them to get expelled.

"Miss Granger!" Hermione almost winced at the sharpness of Professor McGonagall's tone. She stood up and braced herself for the worst.

"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; Hermione didn't flinch, though she thought he was being quite unhelpful in this situation.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." Well, at least it wasn't a total lie...

"Well - in that case..." Professor McGonagall seemed to be thinking through how to deal with them now with this new piece of news. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione just let her head fall to her chest, showing the shame that she was truly feeling. She didn't say anything to the Professors, waiting anxiously to hear what their punishment would be.

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

Hermione left, hurrying along the corridors and stairways towards the Gryffindor common room. She was ready to be away from the troll and angry professors, and hoped that Harry and Ron stuck with her story. Once she had reached the Fat Lady, she gave the password (still "pig snout") and waited for them to arrive. When the two boys finally climbed through the portrait hole, there was a slightly embarrassed pause as they all looked at each other.

"Thanks," the three said at once before turning to get plates and partake in the feast. Hermione smiled as she ate; she could just tell that they were friends now. At least some good had come from that troll.