Nott couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure and they were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, Harry filled Ron and Elowen in about his theory that something had been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.

"Or both," said Harry.

Unfortunately since they knew nothing about what had been in the vault, their speculation went nowhere.

Neither Neville or Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. Hermione was now refusing to speak to the twins or Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they all saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Nott, and to their great delight, that arrived with the post about a week later.

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large package and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. Hedwig, who'd flown in just to say hi, hooted in dissatisfaction and hopped from Elowen's shoulder to pick up the bacon.

The package had barely landed when another owl dropped a letter on the top. Harry ripped open the note first, which was lucky, because it said:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.

It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch pitch at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor M. McGonagall

Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to his twin to read.

"Don't open it at the table, she says," Elowen read. She eyed the package. "What does she think people are going to think this is??"

"I guess we'll only need to buy one broom this summer," Harry remarked to his sister.

"Nice of McGonagall to buy a broom for you," his sister said, looking up at the staff table. Harry looked up and caught McGonagall's eye, smiling in thanks.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously, having snatched the note and read it. "I've never even touched one."

Harry and Ron left the Hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first lesson, but halfway across the Entrance Hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Nott seized the package from Harry and felt it.

"That's definitely a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You're in for it this time, Potter, first-years aren't allowed them."

Ron couldn't resist it.

"It's not any old broomstick," he gloated, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Nott, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Nott snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up, twig by twig."

Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Nott's elbow.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he said, raising eyebrows at them all.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Nott quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Nott's face. "And it's really thanks to Nott here that I've got it."

Harry and Ron continued upstairs, smothering their laughter at Nott's obvious rage and confusion.

"Well, it's true," Harry laughed as they reached the top of the marble staircase. "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be in the team…"

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."

Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.

~~~

Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory, where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch pitch where he'd be learning to play that night. He scarfed his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating (Elowen, Neville and the other first year Gryffindors all watched this with varying levels of fascination — it was not often that someone ate faster than Ron) and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.

"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled on to Harry's bedspread.

Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.

As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off towards the Quidditch pitch in the dusk. He'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the pitch so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the pitch were three golden poles with hoops on the end.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling – he swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the pitch. He could never go back to the school brooms after this — the Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.

"Hey, Potter, come down!"

~~~

While Harry was off learning to play Quidditch, Elowen slipped out of the common room and made her way down to the dungeons and stopped in front of the door to Snape's office. She hesitated for a second, then squared her shoulders and knocked soundly.

"Enter," she heard Snape drawl and she pushed open the door. The potions Professor sighed when he saw her. "Potter One, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I heard something interesting and I wanted to ask you about it," El said, looking at the shelf of crystal-vialed potions.

"Potter, I have a great many things to be doing," Snape dismissed. "I don't have time to answer inane questions."

"You were best friends with my mother."

Snape froze for an instant.

"Hagrid told Harry and I that he thought you were in love with her," Elowen pushed on, trailing her fingers along the shelf. "It's just interesting to me that you wouldn't have mentioned being so close to her when you picked us from her sister's house. And I've been thinking about why you might see fit to omit that bit of information —"

"Potter—"

"And I can only assume that you might have known Petunia as well, and known her views on magic. She certainly seemed to hate you enough." Elowen sat in the chair in front of Snape's desk, staring at him with the green eyes she knew were so like her mother's. "Why not tell us you knew our mother, unless of course you knew that where we were raised was not what she would have wanted for us?"

Snape just stared at her for a long moment, seeming to argue with himself, before sighing. "Petunia always had a… complicated relationship with Lily."

Elowen scoffed. "Sure, if by complicated you mean hatred."

Snape gave her a sharp look. "Do you wish to know or not? Don't interrupt." El fell silent. "While Lily may not have wanted you to be raised by Petunia, Albus has assured us all that you were raised in a loving home."

Elowen felt a rush of anger at this and spat, "Albus is a liar and a fool."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "And would you care to elaborate on that?"

Elowen changed tracks. "Who would our parents have wanted us to go to?"

"Your godfather, I would assume," Snape answered.

"Sirius is in Azkaban, so that's a no go," Elowen refuted.

"Beyond that," Snape continued, "I don't know, it would have been outlined in their will, I'm sure." He leaned forward, hands steepled in front of him. "How do you know about Sirius Black?"

"Narci- Lady Malfoy told us," Elowen hastily corrected herself. She raised her chin, nose in the air like she'd seen Pansy Parkinson, perfect Pureblood princess, do. "I am the Heiress Black, after all. It's only right that the last remaining member of the family who is in good standing should teach me about our House and the reputation I am expected to uphold."

"Narcissa Malfoy is teaching you about your family," Snape repeated, skepticism clear in his tone.

El shrugged. "The Blacks, at least." She scowled. "Someone had to teach Harry and I about the things we should have grown up knowing."

Snape inclined his head as if agreeing with her. He waved his wand and green light twisted itself in numbers — 9:00. "I do believe you should be going if you wish to make it back to your common room before curfew."

Elowen was smart enough to see that she'd pushed the man far enough for one night. "Thank you, sir."

She was halfway out the door when he spoke again.

"Potter Two." She winced at the demotion and turned back. "I expect you will hear this a great many times over the years, but you really do look remarkably like your mother."

Elowen nodded slightly and left.

Harry was so excited and happy when he came back from his Quidditch training that Elowen couldn't bring herself to dampen his spirit by telling him of her talk with Snape. Instead she let him ramble on with Ron about the sport, his eyes bright, and started mentally drafting a letter to Gringotts.

~~~

A few snickering Slytherins passed by their table for the fifth time in as many minutes and Elowen's irritation flared. It had been two weeks since that first flying class and Nott's little crew continued to harass them whenever Draco was with her and Neville. Her patience was already thin while waiting on a response from Gringotts and she was fed up with Nott. She slammed her history book closed and was halfway to standing before a pale hand closed over her shoulder and forced her back into her seat.

"It isn't worth it," Draco told her, focusing hard on his transfiguration essay. She opened her mouth furiously to argue when Draco shook his head. "Elowen. Just leave it. You'll get detention."

"I wish you'd let me hex him, just once," she grumbled. Draco shook his head fondly.

"It won't really fix anything, you know that." He raised an eyebrow. "We're only a month and a half into school, what kind of hexes do you expect to be able to use?"

"Abernant, the fifth year prefect, they were more than willing to teach me one or two when I asked," Elowen told him. "A well placed Stinging jinx or bat bogey hex might shut Nott up."

"Something tells me hexing him will just make him angrier," Neville said as he watched Draco with a sort of concerned understanding. "Do we make it hard for you in Slytherin, being your friends?"

"No." He sighed and shoved away his essay. "Most Slytherins don't care, actually, they think that making such 'powerful connections' is very Slytherin of me. It's just Theodore and Pansy and their little entourage, really." He scowled at the table. "They both think it's a betrayal, that I'm better friends with you two than I am them. They think since we grew up together that I should be loyal to them."

"I grew up in the same circles you did too,"Neville pointed. "Elowen should have grown up in those circles. It's not really such a stretch that you'd enjoy our company."

"Maybe they're jealous," Elowen suggested.

"Politics in Slytherin are just complicated," Draco waved off. "I was supposed to be the first year leader but I haven't really tried to assert my power. Mother told me before the train that friends were more important than power."

Neville shuddered. "I'm glad we don't have politics in Gryffindor, I don't think I'd be any good at that."

"I think Harry and I would do great," Elowen said cheerfully. "Who else would lead our year, Hermione?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "You have got to get her under control," he told the two Gryffindors. "All that hand waving and answering all the questions is not winning her any favor with anyone."

"Why does she do that anyway?" Neville wondered aloud.

"I can't really blame her," Elowen said. "Muggle schools are different, the teachers expect you to raise your hand. It was actually a bit of an adjustment period to realize that that isn't how things work here."

Neville scrunched his nose. "I don't think I would do very well in a Muggle school, I don't like to be called on now." He passed his Potions essay to Draco. "Review my potions essay and I'll go over your Herbology?"

The trio fell into silence as they worked for a few moments.

"I've got it!" Elowen suddenly cried. Pince shushed them and she lowered her voice. "The answer to your problems, Draco, is just to get the other first year Slytherins on your side."

He exchanged looks with Neville. "And how do you propose I do that?"

"Study group!" Elowen grinned. "You're friends with Zabini and Greengrass right? Invite them to study with us!"

"Ah, Elowen, I don't think…"

"I'll ask, but don't expect them to come," Draco cut Neville off. "They might not want to risk their standing with Theo and Pansy."

"Wonderful!"

~~~

Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realised that they'd already been at Hogwarts two entire months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had, and expecting an enthusiastic agreement, he mentioned this to his sister. Elowen, however, just gave him a terse 'yeah' and stuck her nose back in the book she was reading. Harry shrugged. She'd had a shorter fuse than usual and was much less polite lately, but he chalked it up to stress. Their lessons were becoming harder and more interesting now that they'd mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning, they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom in the second week of classes. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practise. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (to both his dismay and relief. He usually partnered with his twin or Ron, and Neville, who had a hard time with most spells, was trying to catch his eye). Elowen looked annoyed, paired with Pansy Parkinson. Ron was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived, and Elowen had reported that she was being even more overbearing in the dorms, much to every other girl's irritation.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practising!" Professor Flitwick called over the chatter. He was perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "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."

It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skywards just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it – Harry had to put it out with his hat.

He looked around the room. Neville, who had been paired with Draco (and Harry had to wonder, was Flitwick trying to create house unity? He could see Fay Dunbar, one of El's dorm mates, paired with Tracey Davis from Slytherin. And Lavender Brown was scowling next to Goyle. Odd choices, in Harry's opinion) and Draco at least seemed to be doing okay, their feather jumping a bit every time he flicked his wand. Elowen and Pansy seemed to be arguing back and forth over wand movement? Harry wasn't sure and frankly, he didn't want to know.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck than Harry and Seamus had.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, not Levi-o-saaa, make the "gar" nice and long and emphasize the O."

Ron, it seemed, had reached the end of the little patience he had for Hermione. His face twisted in irritation.

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face – and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"I think she heard you," he said awkwardly.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

"Who's got no friends?" Elowen asked as she came up to Harry's side. Harry recounted what had just happened and Elowen stared between the two boys. "Really, guys? That was just cruel."

"Hey, you don't like Hermione either!" Ron protested.

"Yeah, but if I said something that made her cry, I'd apologize!" Elowen shot back. Ron shifted uncomfortably. Elowen shook her head. "Boys."

She stalked off.

"Where are you going?" Harry called after her.

"I'm gonna go find Hermione and apologize for my brother's best friend."

Hermione and Elowen both didn't turn up for the next class and weren't seen all afternoon. Draco came to the Gryffindor table during lunch amid whispering and demanded to know why Elowen hadn't been in Defense. Harry felt guilt pricking in his chest as he told the blonde that he didn't know.

On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling Lavender Brown that Hermione was crying in the second floor girls' toilets and wanted to be left alone, and that Elowen was just sitting outside the stall refusing to leave. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put both girls out of their minds.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Harry was tucking several napkin-wrapped rolls and dried meats into his pocket to give to Elowen later when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped, "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy Weasley was in his element.

"Follow me! Stick together, first-years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first-years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a Prefect!"

"A troll isn't going to care if you're a bloody Prefect, Weasley!" Abernant snapped. "Just go!" They shook their head as they herded several younger Hufflepuffs along with the Gryffindors. "'No need to fear the troll,' honestly."

Harry grabbed Ron's arm and slipped away from the other students at the first opportunity.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked. "We're supposed to follow the prefects."

"If you think I'm going to leave my twin out there while a troll is on the loose, you've lost it," Harry snapped. Ron stopped fighting immediately. "Plus it's our fault El and Hermione aren't here, so we're gonna go get them."

"Do I want to know why it's your fault?" Draco said suddenly from behind them. Harry and Ron wheeled around.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ron snapped. "You should be with the other Slytherins."

"El is my best friend, Weasley," Draco drawled. "I saw Harry drag you off and I figured he was going after her, so I followed."

"Alright," Harry agreed, giving Ron a look and starting off again at a bit of a run. "Parvati said that Elowen and Hermione spent all day in the second floor girls bathroom."

"What exactly caused that?" Draco asked, but he didn't get an answer as the three of them had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry and Draco behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered.

Draco frowned. "I don't know, he should be down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers."

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.

"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said. "The only thing up there is the Cerberus."

"Cerberus??" Draco hissed. "What do you Gryffindors get up to?"

"Never mind that." Ron held up his hand. "Can you smell something?"

Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.

"That's the troll," Draco said crinkling n his nose in disgust. "It has to be, all the books say they smell horrid."

Sure enough, in the next second, they heard it – low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed at the end of a passage to the left where something huge was moving towards them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredibly awful. It was dragging a giant wooden club along the floor.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"That's the boys bathroom," Harry muttered. "Keys in the lock, we could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

"After you," Draco said shakily.

They edged towards the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door and lock it.

"Yes!"

Flushed with their victory they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a high, petrified scream – and it was coming from the chamber they'd just locked up.

"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.

Draco closed his eyes. "That wasn't the boys bathroom was it?"

"I don't think so," Harry sighed.

All three sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Finally, Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.

Hermione was cowering against the opposite wall, looking as if she was about to faint. Elowen was standing next to her, back pressed against the wall, stinging hexes flashing from her wand and failing to actually do anything against the troll's thick skin. The troll was advancing on them both, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.

"Nice of you to show up!" Elowen yelled at them, a quaver of fear in her voice.

"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron and Draco, and seizing a tap he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

"Noise is just going to make it angry!" Draco protested, but he scooped up a chunk of sink and threw it as hard as he could.

The troll stopped a few feet from the girls. It turned, slow and awkward, around, blinking, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes locked on Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Oi, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the room, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout towards Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.

"Pea-brain??" Draco said incredulously from where he stood near the wall, throwing a piece of the tap at the troll. "Really, Weasley, that's the best you can come up with?"

"Shut up, Malfoy, like you could do any better."

"Not the time," Harry groaned. "Come on, run, run!" he yelled at the girls. Elowen pushed off the wall and ran towards Draco. Harry was left trying to pull Hermione towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

"I told you the noise would make it angrier!" Draco called to Harry and Ron. "Weasley, move!"

Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid. He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.

"Harry, what are you doing??" he heard Elowen yell but he couldn't answer, hanging on for dear life. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.

Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.

Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Elowen and Draco both had to dive to the floor to dodge the swinging club; Ron pulled out his wand, not knowing what he was going to do until he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, rotated slowly and dropped, with a sickening crack, on to its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

Harry, thrown from the troll's neck, got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. Draco helped Elowen up from the floor.

It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is it… dead?"

"I don't think so," said Harry. "I think it's just been knocked out."

"Trolls are notoriously difficult to kill," Draco added. "That's why potions involving troll skin are so expensive, the skin is very hard to get."

Harry bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.

"Ugh, troll snot." He wiped it on the troll's trousers. Elowen eyed his wand with disgust.

"Does the magical world have bleach?" she asked. "I don't think anything else could clean that wand well enough."

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made all five of them look up — El and Draco, closest to the door, whipped up their wands to point at the door. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Snape and McGonagall paused at the wands pointed at them and wore identical raised eyebrows until they were lowered. Elowen and Draco both gave muttered apologies as they put their wands back in their holsters — they hadn't realised what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. Draco scoffed quietly at the man.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at the Gryffindors in the room. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air, and at Elowen and Hermione, covered in dust. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Before they could answer, she turned her glare on Draco. "And you, Mr. Malfoy, why aren't you with the other Slytherins in the library?"

Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.

Then a small voice came out of the shadows.

"Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.

"They were looking for us," Elowen added. "Hermione and I were—"

"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," Hermione said, looking at her feet. "Elowen followed me to try and stop me, when we encountered the troll."

Ron dropped his wand as he and the other three just stared. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

"If the boys hadn't found us, we'd be dead now. Draco distracted it, 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 us both off when they arrived."

Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well… in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the five of them. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "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.

Snape looked at Elowen. "Potter Two, in the future, if your classmate is doing something they shouldn't, I would advise you to tell a teacher, instead of rushing off after them like a reckless Gryffindor."

"I am a Gryffindor, sir," Elowen responded, shifting awkwardly when McGonagall joined Snape in frowning at her. She nodded, looking at the floor. "Yes, sir, I'll remember that."

Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Draco, and Ron.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points, and Mr. Malfoy, five points to Slytherin as well. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You all may go."

They hurried out of the bathroom and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.

"We should have got more than ten points," Ron grumbled.

"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."

"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.

"I, for one, would like to know why there was troll in this school at all," Draco remarked. "The wards on the castle should have kept any dark creatures out. Including the Cerberus, don't think I forgot about that."

"I suppose the wards might have been lowered," Elowen mused. "In order to have the Cerberus play guard dog."

"Guard dog?" Draco asked, but they had reached the point where he had to separate to head to the library. He paused and looked back at El. "I expect an explanation at some point. And rest assured, my father will hear about this incident."

He walked off down the hall.

"What does he think his father is going to do?" Harry asked as they continued on toward the common room.

"Lucius Malfoy is on the Board of Governors," Ron told him. "Dad sometimes complains that he's always trying to get Dumbledore fired."

Harry accepted this explanation and turned to his twin. "Since when am I Potter One? At potions earlier today, I was Potter Two, and you missed class."

"The pure stupidity of the action he thinks I took, I guess." Elowen shrugged.

They fell into silence again until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout," Harry said and they climbed through the portrait hole.

The common room was packed and noisy. Several first- and second-year Hufflepuffs were mixed along the crowd of red robes, having been ushered along with the Gryffindors. Harry could see Neville sitting against the wall by the fire, talking to Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said 'Thanks' and hurried off to get plates and find seats.

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.