Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry, Cassie 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 Cassie and Ron in about a package, that Hargrid had collected from Gringotts that seemed to have been moved to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.
"It's either really valuable," said Ron.
"Or really dangerous," said Cassie.
"Or both," said Harry.
But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.
Neither Neville nor 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 Harry, Cassie or Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail 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. Cassie was intrigued when the owls soared down towards the Gryffindor table and dropped it right in front of Harry, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.
Harry read the note and then handed to Ron and Cassie to read,
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 field at seven o'clock for your first training session.
Professor McGonagall
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."
They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Hello Cassie," said Malfoy, suspiciously polite "I've had a reply back from my Mother,"
"Oh," said Cassie "And what did Mummy dearest say,"
"My Mother has been doing some research," said Malfoy "About you."
"Really," said Cassie "Why ?"
"Because I asked her too." said Malfoy, looking pleased with himself.
"And what did she find out ?" asked Cassie, with slight interest
"We're cousins," Malfoy announced "Well second cousins really."
"Ughh," said Ron "Cassie's related to you."
Malfoy then noticed Harry and Ron standing behind Cassie. He grabbed the package from Harry.
"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed."
Ron couldn't resist it.
"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry and Cassie. "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," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."
Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.
"Not arguing, I hope boys and girls ?" he squeaked.
"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy 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, it is," said Harry. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it,"
Harry, Cassie and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.
"Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on 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." Cassie added
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. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice.
Cassie's partner was Dean Thomas, Cassie liked Dean, because unlike Harry and Ron, Dean knew the rules of football and they could chat about their favourite teams. Dean liked West Ham, whereas Cassie liked Brentford because she went to see the matches with her Dad.
Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to any of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, 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. Cassie and Dean swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Cassie thought hers wiggled a bit and excitedly examined it but it turned out to have moved because Dean sneezed.
Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.
"You're saying it wrong," Cassie heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-di-um Le-vi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."
"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her robes, pushed her hair behind her shoulders, 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 mood by the end of the class.
"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry and Cassie as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "She's a nightmare, honestly."
Someone pushed past them. It was Hermione. Cassie felt really nasty when she saw Hermione was in tears.
"I think she heard you." said Harry
"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."
Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Cassie overheard Parvati telling Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, and Cassie was going to suggest going to find her but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione 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.
Cassie was just starting on her slice of lasagne 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 an 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 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!"
"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.
"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."
They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Cassie suddenly stopped dead and grabbed the back of Harry and Ron's robes.
"I've just thought of Hermione." she said
"What about her?" asked Harry, disentangling Cassie's hands from his robes.
"She doesn't know about the troll." Cassie said, looking worried.
The three of them stared at each other with wide eyes for a few seconds.
"Oh, all right," Ron snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."
Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.
"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry and Cassie 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?" Cassie whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"
"Search me." said Ron
Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.
"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.
"Can you smell something?"
Cassie sniffed and a foul stench reached her nostrils, a mixture of rotten eggs and fish guts.
And then they heard it, a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed, at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward 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 incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.
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.
"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."
"Good idea," said Ron and Cassie together.
They edged toward 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!" they cried.
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 chained up.
"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.
"What ?!" said Harry, looking around.
"That's the girls' bathroom!" Cassie gasped.
"Hermione!" they all said together.
It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.
Hermione was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.
"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron and Cassie, then he seized a tap and threw against the wall.
Cassie dodged the troll's club and ran through its legs. The troll gave a mighty roar and lifted its club, ready to hit Hermione. Cassie got there just in time, she leapt towards Hermione and rugby tackled her into the floor. The trolls club missed them by inches and smashed into a sink.
"Oi, pea brain !" said Ron, throwing a pipe at the troll's shoulder.
The troll wheeled around and started towards Ron. 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. 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.
Ron pulled out his own wand, not knowing what he was going to do 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, turned slowly over, and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto 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.
Cassie blushed when she realised she was still on top of Hermione. She rolled off and offered her hand to Hermione to help her stand up. The four of them stood, covered in dust and looked at the troll on the floor.
It was Hermione who spoke first.
"Is it….dead?"
"I don't think so," said Cassie, "I reckon it's just been knocked out."
Harry bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.
"Urgh... troll boogers." Harry said, disgusted.
He wiped it on the troll's trousers.
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron, Cassie and Harry. Cassie had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white and her nostrils were flared.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitories?"
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
"Please, Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me."
"Miss Granger!"
"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."
Cassie's mouth dropped open. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?
"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."
Cassie fiddled with a piece of her hair and tried to look like she believed this story.
"Well, in that case... " said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Hermione hung her head. Cassie 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.
"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.
Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Cassie 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. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."
They hurried out of the chamber 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 gotten more than fifteen points," Ron grumbled.
"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's." Cassie corrected.
"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.
They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Pig snout," they said and entered.
The common room was packed and noisy. 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.
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.