Author's notes: Now, many of you have been talking about Harry's attitude, Snape's instant defeatist attitude in the last chapter, and how Harry and Ginny are quite mature and powerful for their age. I'll address this here. With Snape, I should've probably mentioned that he was shocked by Harry's outburst as no-one had ever stood up to him before, so that scared him a little. Don't worry, he'll be back to being normal Snape later. As for Harry's attitude, he is very OOC. Living with the Dursleys has had a negative effect on his social skills, so he gets emotional and angry easily. I should've probably mentioned that earlier. On a positive note, he will get better, starting with this chapter, as he gets more allies and continues talking to Ginny. Ginny will give him the social skills he needs, with her influence becoming apparent in this chapter, before anyone suggests how quickly Harry seems to change towards Hermione in this chapter (yes, I've decided to make Hermione an ally as I do prefer her to be good). As for Harry and Ginny's maturity, he never had a childhood, so matured quicker than normal, plus he would want to defend himself, so would learn everything he could. Remember, this is a Powerful Harry fanfic and he will have many abilities at his disposal, as that's the way I planned my story. As for Ginny, she will also be OOC in regards to Harry, and she has to be to become his ally and ultimately get away from her family. As for introducing herself by her full name, she felt the same odd feeling of trust towards Harry, like he did to her, so that's why she introduced herself like that. This is my first story, and it's early on, so I will be getting into more depth as I continue writing, so don't worry there either. I do thank you for your reviews and I'm sorry for not addressing some of the issues you've found with the way I've portrayed the characters.

I don't own Harry Potter, J. does. Now, on with the story...

Chapter 7: Halloween

A over a month had passed since Harry had come to Hogwarts, and nothing really changed. Harry had excelled in all of his classes, even in Potions, and always came out with the top marks. Snape still tried to humiliate Harry whenever he could, but Harry never gave the man the satisfaction, as he never got into a situation where Snape could try to punish him. However, this didn't stop Snape from routinely trying to use Legilimency on Harry, but to no effect thanks to Harry's impressive mental shields. On a positive note, Harry and Ginny had exchanged multiple letters and he had managed to teach her the spell to hide her writing from anyone other than her or him, so they exchanged letters normally from then on without him needing to use loads of enlargement charms. Harry had found himself opening up more to Ginny with every exchange, telling her about his childhood, his fears, and his suspicions. She did the same, and the two quickly built up a close friendship.

As Harry got up this morning, he realised what day it was...It was the day he always dreaded...Today was Halloween; the day his parents were murdered. This put him in a sad mood for the day. While he acted tough in front of others, he was still an 11 year old boy who had no parents, or any true family. He felt completely alone in the world, and if it hadn't been for Ginny becoming his friend, he might have become even more closed off than he already was. He found that by talking to her and opening up, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Was this what it felt like to be truly cared about?

Harry shuck those thoughts from his head as he get showered and dressed before heading to the Great Hall for breakfast and, if he was being honest, he was starving. The rest of the day went pretty quickly to Harry. Nothing really interesting happened, except for Charms class. Hermione was teaching Ron how to do a spell again, and although her actions were justly, the stupid boy didn't seem to think this as he instantly insulted her about her 'know-it-all' attitude. Unfortunately, she heard his insult and ran away crying. Harry found himself actually feeling bad for the girl. Strange as she may be, no-one deserved to be insulted for trying to help someone, even if that person was beyond help.

When it was time for dinner, everyone entered the Great Hall and sat down ready to eat. Harry sat down on his own like usual. He didn't want to socialise with anyone as they only ever seemed to be interested in his title, nothing else. One thing did seem odd to him as he looked down the Gryffindor table; Hermione still wasn't anyway to be seen. Harry didn't know why, but he wanted to know where she was to help her if he could. Ginny was probably rubbing off on him in more ways than one. He decided to ask Neville Longbottom, a shy boy, but Harry had a feeling that he might know something due to the group he was in.

"Hey Neville, do you happen to know where Hermione is? I haven't seen her since she ran off crying after Ron insulted her..." Harry asked, spitting out Ron's name in disgust.

"Well, I heard the other girls saying that Hermione had locked herself in the girls' bathroom and that she has been there all afternoon," Neville answered timidly.

"Thanks Neville," Harry said before returning to his place on the bench.

As Harry began to eat, he thought about how different his life was now that he had joined the magical world. He also tried to figure out how to approach Hermione and try to see how she was, however, what happened next, would become the catalyst for a completely new plan to whatever he was thinking...

"Troll! In the dungeon! Troll in the dungeon! Just thought you'd all want to know..." Professor Quirrell exclaimed, expressing absolute fear before he fainted.

This caused an uproar amongst all of the students except Harry. He noticed the fake fear in the professor's eyes and became instantly suspicious of his motives and whether he let the troll in. It wasn't common for a mountain troll to somehow enter a warded castle on its own. Someone let it in, and Quirrell was the prime suspect in Harry's eyes. Soon, Dumbledore silenced the panicked students and ordered the prefects to escort the students back to their common rooms. As Harry was about to join his housemates, he remembered something, and that something made him pale. Hermione was still in the girls' bathroom and had no idea that a troll was loose in the school. After making sure that no-one was watching, he broke from the crowd and ran towards the bathroom corridor. Once he arrived, he was greeted to a sight that wasn't good news for Hermione. Harry saw the troll, which had somehow got out of the dungeon, if it was even there to begin with, and was heading into the girls' bathroom, right where Hermione was. Harry continued forward, hoping that he wouldn't get in too late.

Hermione was still crying, and had been for a few hours now. Ron had been talking to his friends about how she was nothing more than a 'know-it-all' and that "she wonders why she doesn't have any friends." Those comments hurt her deeply as she realised just how true they were. From a young age, she had known that she was smarter than her peers. She always got the top marks, and was then bullied for this. When she got her Hogwarts letter, she hoped that she would get a better start, but she instantly fell into the bossy, 'know-it-all' attitude and people began to dislike her again. She even met THE Harry Potter and insulted him just because he didn't act like what the books said. His words and attitude made her rethink her views about knowledge and she realised that he was probably right about things such as biographies and such. Many times, she had tried to apologise to him, but either he'd have already gone somewhere to be alone, or she'd let her jealousy of him being the new 'top-in-the-class' get the better of her. If only she had been nicer to him, she may have had a friend here. It was obvious that he needed companionship too, as he was very closed off and very easy to anger. What could've happened to him to cause him to be this way? She didn't know, but she wanted to find out...if he ever gave her a chance, which she highly doubted. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to be her friend either, after what her first impression on him must've been. Just then, she heard something enter the bathroom...Something large! She hesitantly opened the door, only to wish she hadn't a moment later. Right in front of her stood a mountain troll, and he looked very angry. As she began to step back, still in shock of seeing this monster, the troll lifted its club and swung it at her. If it wasn't for her small, nimble frame, the club would've knocked her head off as she dropped to the floor and tried to crawl away while screaming for help.

"Someone! Anyone! HELP! HELP ME!" Hermione screamed in terror, hoping that someone would hear her pleas.

Fortunately, someone did, and that someone was Harry. He had just arrived as the troll swung for Hermione. Harry saw a piece of one of the broken cubicle doors, so, to buy Hermione time to escape, he picked the piece up and threw it at the troll. This served to anger the troll, but it's attention was now on Harry instead of Hermione, giving her chance to crawl forward towards him. Once she was close enough, he stepped in front of her and glared at the troll. As Harry analysed the troll to locate any weaknesses, something clicked in his head. The club! If he could whack the troll with its club, then it would knock it out! Now, how to do so...Of course! Harry pointed his hand at the troll's club and muttered an incantation.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry bellowed, lifting the club out of the troll's hand before it could swing at Harry. Trolls weren't very intelligent creatures, so it looked around for its club, wondering what had happened to make it leave its hand. It soon looked up hesitantly to see its club above him and it merely stared and its club with a confused expression, probably wondering how it got there. Harry saw his chance and dropped the club right onto the troll's head, knocking it out cold as it fell to the ground.

"Is it...dead?" Hermione asked, still slightly wary of the troll, plus not really being too fond of the idea of Harry killing it, even if it was trying to kill her.

"No, just knocked out. The professors can take it back into the wild with no harm done now, so don't worry," Harry said, smiling in reassurance.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am for you saving me...but why? After what I said to you and how I acted towards you, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had just left me..." Hermione said, looking down in shame and remorse for what she had done to him.

"What, and you think that I'd like to have that on my conscience? If I could've saved you, I would've done so, and seeing that I could, I did. I may be a lot of things, Hermione, but a coward, I am not. It takes a coward to walk away when someone is in trouble, whether they've done you wrong or not. Walking away isn't my style," Harry explained, raising his eyebrow questioningly at her.

"I can see that. Oh Harry, I'm so sorry for what I've done to you...I was bigoted, jealous and stupid...I should've never said those things to you, nor judged you...I've been trying to talk to you for the last month to apologise, but things kept getting in my way all of the time...I just want you to know that I'm really sorry...I'd like us to start afresh, but I'd understand if you wouldn't want to get to know me...I wouldn't blame you if you didn't take my offer and walked away after this...Lord knows I'd deserve as much for insulting you and-" Hermione apologised, but was cut off by Harry putting a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her.

"Hermione, as odd as it sounds, a friend of mine made me see things a lot differently this past month. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably not be here now. I heard what Ron had done from Neville. I don't really know why I asked, but for some reason, I felt a urge to help you. Once the news of the troll came about, I remembered about you, so I came looking for you. It's a good job that I found you, it seems. As to your offer, I'd like to start afresh and be your friend...I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you!" Harry explained before holding out her hand while smiling. Yes, Ginny had definitely rubbed off on him.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and the pleasure's all mine!" Hermione said excitedly. At last, she finally had found a true friend. While he was nothing like the books, he still had a noble streak in him, which must've been why he was placed in Gryffindor. Plus, he hated cowards, which is another Gryffindor trait, and something that Hermione found amusing in her head.

Just then, Harry and Hermione's 'fresh start' was interrupted by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell arriving, and at seeing the troll, McGonagall looked furious and terrified.

"Oh my goodness! Explain yourselves! Both of you!" McGonagall demanded.

Hermione was about to make up a lie to get Harry out of trouble when he put a finger to her lips, silencing her again. The truth would win out this time, he was sure of that.

"I can explain this. After Charms, Hermione went missing after being insulted by Ronald Weasley, just for helping him with his spell technique! I found out at dinner that she had been in the girls' bathroom all afternoon, crying, so I was going to look for her after, but we all know what happened next. Basically, I seemed to be the only one to remembered that he didn't know about this and was in danger, so I broke out of the crowd and went to look for her. I know my way to the common room as if it was second nature now, so I would've been able to take her back there if the troll hadn't have somehow 'escaped' from the dungeons and tried to kill Hermione. By the way, it is only knocked out. I dropped its club on its head using the levitation charm. If you're going to punish someone, punish me for not following orders, but don't punish Hermione for being a victim of bullying!" Harry explained firmly, leaving no room for doubt.

"Well...while it was against your orders to do so, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. It isn't common for a first year student to take on a fully-grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale! 10 points...will be awarded for your bravery and good use of the levitation charm. Also, I will be speaking to Mr. Weasley about his actions. I have seen him acting like this before what Miss Granger has tried to help him, and I'm ashamed to have not acknowledged it sooner. Now, you two head back to your common room. I'm sure that your housemates will be worried about you," McGonagall said, smiling slightly at the surprised looks on the two students' faces.

Harry panned across the group of teachers and locked eyes with Dumbledore, then Snape. He felt them try to use Legilimency on him again, and groaned in annoyance at their feeble attempts to get information out of him. He pushed both of them out of his mind easily, causing them to stumble slightly from the force. When he got to Quirrell, however, he was met with a different expression. The man was scowling at him, as if annoyed that he stopped the troll. This only seemed to confirm his suspicions of Quirrell being the one to set the troll loose. What Harry needed to know now was why Quirrell set the troll loose in the first place? He guessed that he'd find out soon as he decided that now was the best time to leave, so he put a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders and lead her past the professors towards the common room. Well, it was official...nothing normal would ever happen to Harry Potter...