Hermione Granger and the Sorcerer's Stone

Draco Malfoy's Midnight Duel

Hermione was going to call them stubborn and selfish but when she turned to reenter the common room she was facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone somewhere and now Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor Tower.

"Now what am I going to do?!" whined Hermione.

"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

Oh no! Hermione was not going to let them leave while she sat out here just waiting to be caught! They got her into this and they were going to get her out of it.

"I'm coming with you," she told them.

"You are not," protested Ron.

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."

"You've got some nerve -" said Ron fiercely.

"Shut up, both of you!" barked Harry. "I heard something." Hermione held her breath, stopping all sound that comes through her body. There was a snuffling that they could all hear now. She desperately wanted to hide, find some way to get away from trouble.

"Mrs. Norris?" asked Ron.

They all crept near the sound, and Neville snapped awake in the darkness from his deep sleep. He must have come when the Fat Lady first left then fallen asleep.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours!, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed," he explained.

This must have been what he was forgetting earlier.

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The new password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" said Harry.

"Fine," said Neville, showing them his repaired wrist. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later -"

"Don't leave me!" begged Neville, getting to his feet. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron looked at his watch then glared angrily at Hermione and Neville.

"If either of you get us caught I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth to explain to him just exactly how you perform the curse but Harry hissed at her to be quiet. 

Harry signaled for them to come forward they followed him.

Hermione squinted in the darkness, with Neville, close by her, one of the only things she could see.

They sped up to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.

Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet, and Hermione was in no mood to wait, but she did not say anything because she knew she mustn't make unnecessary noise at the moment. Minutes passed and Malfoy was still not there though.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," whispered Ron.

Then a noise in the next room made the four first years jump. Harry had raised his wand, and then they heard someone speak, and that someone was not Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

Filch was speaking to Mrs. Norris, his cat. Harry waved madly for the other three to follow them.