Everything was quiet for precisely two seconds, then chaos ensued. When Harry spared a glance at Xira, he was immensely entertained by the look on her face. She looked wholly done, her mouth still open and the food millimeters away from her mouth.
Harry wanted to laugh, but she probably would snap at him. His eyes left her and went to Dumbledore, who was attempting to silence the students. He finally did by using his wand, calling the prefects to lead the students back to their dormitories.
Harry sneered at the man; how had he been so blind before? Of course, he gave no care to the Hufflepuffs nor the Slytherins. Didn't Quirrell just say the troll was in the dungeons, just where both the Hufflepuff and Slytherin dorms happened to be?
No student seemed to think about that though, maybe some did but just weren't brave enough to say anything. As the Slytherin prefects were getting all the students together, Harry spared a glance to the Gryffindor table. He cursed under his breath.
There was a distinct lack of a bushy head of hair among the other kids. Hermione was probably in the girl's bathroom sobbing. Who knows what that troll could do to her? But technically, they weren't friends. He wasn't the one who hurt her feelings.
If he didn't do anything, he wouldn't be blamed. Could he just let her potentially get hurt? Why was he considering it? No, he would make sure she was alright. He was utterly disgusted that he contemplated letting Hermione get hurt.
No matter if he was different now, she wasn't. The same bright witch that was once one of his best friends. She supported him and would one day become a great woman; she deserved nothing but the best.
Harry was about to sneak away from the Slytherins; nobody was paying attention to him anyway. Xira, though, noticed him and gave him a questioning look.
"What are you doing?" She asked, and Harry gulped. What was he supposed to say? He already predicted that Xira would pester him later about how he knew something was going to happen.
"Nothing," Harry said, but he knew that just made him sound all the more suspicious. Xira gave him an unimpressed look, bright blue eyes seeing straight through his lie.
"Don't lie to me." Xira seemed to stare straight into his soul; he knew she wanted him to just tell her. Harry felt a strong compulsion to just spill it all right there, but he stopped himself. He'd have to lie once more; the truth was too much.
"I saw a girl break away from her group and head off. She probably wanted to stop the troll herself or something as she was a Gryffindor. I don't want her to get hurt or worse, so I thought I should check on her." He thought it was a believable fib, but he saw her doubt.
"Well then, I'll come with you; two kids aren't much better than one against a troll." She said with a grin. Harry felt though she knew that what he said wasn't the absolute truth.
"So, three kids would be better?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, hoping to avoid the lie. She shook her head, still smirking, shoving Harry slightly so he'd go to where he supposedly saw the girl go. Harry pretty much sprinted, hoping to get there as fast as he could.
Xira followed behind, right on his tail. She stopped for a minute, and Harry turned to look back at her, wondering why she quit.
"Wait, I thought Quirrell said the troll was in the dungeons. Why are we going up?" Harry kind of stood there for a second, trying to think of a reasonable explanation.
"Well, I saw her go up here; maybe she's not trying to find the troll. But she could still be in danger." She looked at Harry skeptically but didn't say anything. Harry continued running, and as they got closer to the girl's bathroom, he smelt the horrible stench of the troll.
Harry stopped, Xira almost ran into him. Her nose was wrinkled, and she looked like she was about to ask something, then she spotted why he stopped. The twelve feet tall horrible troll standing a couple feet away from the two of them.
Xira's lip was trembling; her eyes were as wide as saucers. Harry, if he was honest, was terrified as well. The thing could squish him under a foot if it wanted. Lucky they were so dumb; otherwise, they'd probably be dead by now.
Harry knew Hermione was in that bathroom, but he was so scared. How had he been so fearless before? He truthfully didn't know, but what he did know was he came so far. Harry could do this; ignoring common sense, he took a step forward.
"What the heck are you doing?" Xira whisper shouted. She looked at Harry like he was crazy. He glanced back, gnawing at his lip.
"She's in there…." He said, with confidence and bravery, he indeed didn't have. Xira shook her head frantically.
"You're going to risk your life for a girl you don't even know? You're crazy; let someone capable handle this!" Harry wanted to give in because he knew from her perspective, she was right. If this wasn't Hermione, he wouldn't be here right now.
But if he went and got help, there was a chance something terrible could happen to her. He heard a high-pitched scream and realized that the troll had gone into the room during the conversation.
Harry sprung forward, ignoring Xira's calls behind him. He felt a rush of energy and felt like he could take this beast down. It towered over Hermione; she was cowering in a corner. Her hair was even more messy than usual, and her cheeks were tear-stained.
She noticed him and gave him a desperate look, begging for help. Harry panicked briefly; what was he supposed to do. Then he thought of something, he pulled out his wand. He pleaded with every deity this would work. Otherwise, he was screwed.
"Stupefy!" He yelled, putting as much power behind it as he could. The red stream of magic hit the troll, and at first, he thought it didn't work. But the giant creature fell over, almost crushing Harry. He just blinked at the knocked-out beast, not processing for a good few seconds.
Hermione looked utterly stunned. Harry saw Xira run in and then take in the scene. Soon she too was confused and amazed. Harry had just taken out a troll all by himself and saved a girl from what could have been great harm. Harry slowly put away his wand.
If Hermione was honest, she wasn't the most likable person. She wasn't an idiot; she was fully aware of her bossiness and know it all attitude. But that was how she dealt with new things; she didn't like being out of her comfort zone.
She hadn't ever thought she could be a witch. Sure she was a bit different from other kids, and yes, maybe weird things did occur around her but saying she was a witch was too much. But as it turned out, she was, and she was thrust into a world she knew nothing about.
Though she tried her best to learn everything about it, there was just so much. She thought that maybe there would be people like her at this new school, she could finally have friends. These wizard kids were worse than the muggle ones. Her muggle upbringing and bossy attitude made her an outcast.
She thought she would be okay with it; Hermione was used to being friendless. But it became too much when she overheard Weasley talking to another Gryffindor about her. She found herself in the bathroom crying. At this point, she wanted to just go home.
Of course, it all had to get worse when a big smelly creature burst into the bathroom. Hermione thought she would die then, friendless and alone. But someone burst into the restroom; he had to save her. And he did, shouting some a spell she had read about.
After he put the thing on the ground, she got a good look at him. He was a small, black-haired kid. He was thin and pale with unflattering round glasses covering his very noticeably green eyes. He looked shocked at what he just did.
Then it clicked; he was Harry Potter, that's why he looked slightly familiar. What the heck was he doing in here then? A second kid burst in; she was around his size too. Hermione didn't know who she was but guessed she was a Slytherin too.
She had very curly honey-blond hair that looked an utter mess and bright sky-blue eyes just as evident as Potter's. Her light brown skin looked a little flushed, so Hermione guessed she'd been running. Hermione wondered what the heck was going on.
Yeah I admit this is a bit rushed seeming, but yk I did this all in one day so...But I'm not actually sure if Hermione should be a character or not, it really depends on what you guys think I guess. If you guys say nothing I'll make the decision on my own! Anyway I hope you enjoyed and forgive me for the speedy pace.
-Lemon Nugget
