◤Chapter 11: Trolls are not cute and cuddly creatures◢
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❦ act I ❦
✩‧₊˚*✧･ﾟ:* The Survivor *:･ﾟ✧*˚ ₊ ‧ ✩
'Your hair should have its own fan base at this point.'
- Ginny
Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. He couldn't believe his luck either, Violet hadn't found out because otherwise she would've had him by the hair by now and the two dimwits didn't get themselves expelled, so he got to live another day. The thing that did freak him out though was the fact that he wasn't glad that Violet because she would be mad, he realised that he actually cared whether or not she wanted to keep being friends with him. It was a new feeling. With his other friends, neither of them had a choice at first, they found each other as the outcasts and kind of stuck together for better or worse. With Violet, she had no obligation to put up with him or to include him or to be his friend, so that meant he had to make an effort if he truly wanted them to be friends.
"Well, I guess I'm stuck with you, huh?" Tried Violet to tease Draco only to seem him look down at his feet. "For Merthur's sake, Dray. You know I love. Come on, you are my friend because I want you to be. You know I never do things out of obligation." She said and leaned a little to put a hand around his shoulder for a few seconds.
Theo was tearing up a little by the end, he hated to think that his friend believed they were only hanging out with him due to necessity. "We love you too, Dray. We chose to be here, with you. We would've dropped you in a second if we didn't. We stayed because that's what friends do." He said and pushed Violet back to be able to properly hug his friend.
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 in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. 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 Harry and 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.
Violet was sitting at the Slytherin table when she finally saw her friend approaching. His hair was a nest, not as bad as hers, but not too far away either.
"Your hair should have its own fan base at this point." Laughed Ginny and Violet only rolled her eyes at her.
She quickly pushed Pansy away to make a spot for him and closed her Transfiguration book before he saw it and confiscated it. Theo made her promise to not take her books with her at least when they were eating. The only fault in his wording was that he didn't specify if it was all the time or only when he was around. Violet liked to say that it was only when he was around.
Remus started laughing as he remembered his own friend making sure he was getting some sleep and was eating. "James used to do that for me and Regulus. He kept saying that we read too much and one day he'll change the food with ice and see how long it took us to notice." He sighed when as he mentioned Regulus. It was a very sour subject for Sirius and he.
Everything was kind of good between the Marauders and Sirius' younger brother until Regulus' fifth year when he became a completely different person. Sure, Remus had his theories and so did James and Lily, but Sirius had his guard so up when it came to his family that it felt easier for him to just believe the worst of them rather than hope for the best. It was a coping mechanism, they all knew, but they also knew this was one of the reasons his relationship with Regulus was strained.
Sirius always preferred to assume the worst of his brother to tune down the guilt he felt for not being there for him as much as possible and for making so the only way they could meet was in secret. And he is reckless, he admits he can be too harsh, too judgmental or too aggressive sometimes and he hates it. He tried so hard, it took him until after the prank to realise that he still had growing up to do. It took hurting the man he loved, his friends and his brother comparing him to their mother to finally get how bloody awful he was behaving.
He worked on it. Merlin knows how much he worked for it and how he blamed himself after he found out his brother died. How his little and innocent baby brother died without Sirius getting the chance to apologise to him. His little brother who he used to sing happy birthday to and sneak him sweets because their parents didn't think they deserve them. His little brother who he used to sneak to when there were thunderstorms because he knew he would get spooked. His little brother who he taught about astronomy. His little brother who he'd take the blame for on the rare occasions he made a mistake. His little brother who used to gift him paintings that he painted specifically for his birthday. His little brother who spent nights taking care of his wounds after he provoked his parents again. His little brother who he loved more than anything. His little brother who died with his big brother's last words to him being "Congrats, Reg. You've finally become filth like them. Hope you're happy with your new master.".
'Vivi! Why do you think you can trick me about hiding your book?' Asked Theo as he took a seat.
He had to give it to her. She did an excellent job with hiding that book, the only downside was that Blaise saw her and he told him. And he told him because he was also worried about Violet's health which said a lot since he barely cared about himself, others were out of question. That of course only made Theo worry more about how she was doing. All she did was write and read and maybe give them a snarky comment or try to speak with her brother, but that was all. He was scared to ask when was the last time she felt the sun on her skin.
"Even you were worried about me?" Asked Violet since she understood how concerned they must've been if Blaise was worried.
"Merlin, Viv. You must not remember how bad you were. Only fourth year beats it and that should say everything." He replied and tried to not shudder when thinking about it. "You weren't eating, you were overworking yourself badly, you had rashes from stress and you looked paler than the ghosts. Everyone worried you would get in an early grave."
Snuffles hadn't heard about this before since his goddaughter kind of avoided the subject, so he gave her a look which he wasn't sure was very effective since he was in dog form. Moony instead had a very human appearance and made sure to give her a look. Alice and Frank were a little shook up since Violet and Neville never talked to them about this. The Notts just wanted to put Violet in a happy bubble until she died.
She put on a small reassuring smile and put the book back in its place. 'I really found an interesting chapter. It's about animagi.' Violet said and she started to explain everything to him in great detail excitedly.
"Ms. Potter?" Asked Snape as he heard enough. He didn't want to deal with any incidents again. "Do you want to further explain?"
"I am innocent, professor." She said with a sweet voice.
He listened to her, by the end of her rant the whole table was listening to her as she spoke about what she found out. The information might've not been entirely new to some, but they never heard anyone, not even the first year Muggleborns, talk so passionately about a subject that most students brush over when they get to it since it requires too much work. Her voice and the emotion behind somehow managed to make even the lazier ones to want to hear more about it, her voice just had something about it that made them want her to speak all day long if she could.
'There's no way you're doing this without having help and some serious research.' Theo warned as he could tell by the spark in her eyes when she talked about wanting to research some more, ask professor McGonagall some questions about the subject and such that this wasn't an innocent curiosity. 'You also need to do this after you have more practice in Transfiguration.'
"Big brother mode on." Teased Adrian, but Theo only nodded seriously.
"People can die from this, Ad. I wasn't going to let her alone."
Violet rolled her eyes and only offered him an innocent smile. 'I only found the subject interesting, Theo. I'm not doing anything.' She then took a bite of a muffin he was trying to get her to eat. It wasn't like she never ate anything, she was just used to barely eat.
He heard enough from his parents about how James Potter and Sirius Black were as students to know there's nothing good coming from a Potter saying they're innocent. He had no idea what her plan was, but he sure didn't plan to let her do it alone.
Minerva was shaking her head tiredly and also nostalgic as she remembered about how her boys used to be. All teachers agreed with her when they said that Theo and Violet were exactly like James and Sirius. Their friendship made everyone remember all the trouble the Marauders got in. The only difference was that these ones were smarter, so they were caught way less and their spells were more sophisticated since they went for more complex schemes.
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 parcel and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, 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 ripped open the letter 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
"The parcel looks exactly like a broom. There's no way people don't know about it." Noted Pansy.
"Even Steve could tell it was a broom." Added Fred and those who knew Steve understood how obvious it was.
Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.
'A Nimbus Two Thousand!' Ron moaned enviously. 'I've never even touched one.'
"Sounds a little nasty." Muttered Violet to Theo, succeeding to make him laugh.
Just then a letter fell in front of Harry, but this time it wasn't from a school owl, it was his sister's owl. He took the note and let the bird fly before opening it: Congratulations, Har! I'm so proud of you! Your house's ghost really likes to gossip when you are nice to him, (try to be nice to him, he sounds like he's lonely) so that's how I found out, but don't worry, nobody, but me knows about this. I'm so happy for you! I knew you could do it! I can't wait to see you win the cup! You don't know this, but dad was a captain, a chaser. Apparently the team won every single year he was a captain for. (two years, sixth and seventh year, he was also Head Boy? But everyone was apparently surprised... doesn't matter, good for dad) And uncle Pads was a beater (Also, I did the math and he turned seventeen when ABBA's song Dancing Queen came out. They supposedly chased him around the castle with the song playing on repeat.) and Reggie was a seeker (for my house, of course, 'cause they needed the Black sass and class to win. And in my house's defense, Reggie stopped being a seeker after his fourth year, so he couldn't be there to save the day when dad took over the Gryffindor team. Hope he was okay though, their parents are rumored to have been tough like our dear family and I'd like to think he just prioritised his OWL-s and not the other option.) and uncle Moony was doing the commentary (Theo says that because of him Minnie sits next to the one doing the commentary, he cursed a lot and didn't really keep the score? Most students quickly realised that a match with him was the best way to find out what exactly was happening around the school). They made sure to cause a lot of grey hair for poor Minnie. I researched a little bit after I found out you became a seeker to check what I could tell you to see just how proud they would be of you. Also, I know I promised you I would try and track them down and I promise I'm working on it, but this is really tricky, Har and we are still pretty new to this world, we don't really have connections and finding a werewolf, a couple consisting of two aurors who went into hiding, a couple and their best friend who adore to travel and a man who we don't know what exactly happened to or what to search for when it comes to him isn't exactly easy. I hope to at least locate even the smallest bit of family we have left by Christmas. You can always come to me if you want to talk. I miss you. Be safe. Love you, Violet. He smiled as he finished the letter. He was glad to see his sister wasn't as bad as Ron kept telling him she was. She was just having problems learning who to trust.
Violet now knew what exactly happened to cause Regulus to stop playing and she felt tears rise. She was so sorry he had to go through that. The only thing keeping her from a full crying session about it was to remember that he at least had his friends with him.
"I love you so much, Siri. Neither of you deserved to have that horrid bitch as a mother." She whispered to Snuffles and hugged the dog close to her and tried to keep herself in check.
Remus remembered clearly every single thing Violet mentioned in her letter and he almost never felt as lonely. Almost everyone in his life was gone and those who were in fact still alive came back in his life only now. He had been alone for years with nobody, but memories of how good everything used to be when they were at Hogwarts.
The boys went to the common room and opened the broom excited as they talked about how thanks to Malfoy, Harry got to have a new broom.
'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.
"You came a long way, 'Mione." Tried George and Fred to comfort her.
'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.
"That was... I don't have words." Commented Bill and shook his head at his brother. He was behaving like a little prat. And he had a plan to have a chat with him later about coming between siblings like he did with Harry and Violet.
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. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.
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. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.
'Hey, Potter, come down!'
Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him. 'Very nice,' said Wood, his eyes glinting. 'I see what McGonagall meant ... you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week.'
"I think he could've asked for one or two more practices" Said Violet as she thought of how Flint was managing the team.
They had practice daily and they even practiced nights as well when there was about a week left before a game. The team was so tired and moody before games that even their friends were keeping a distance. And not only that, he'd come in your dorm in the middle of the night or during the day randomly and quiz you on the game strategy. You didn't answer right and you'd get jinxed throughout the day until the next time he had a question for you.
Adrian knew exactly what she was talking about, he left the team after he broke his arm and Flint had the nerve to curse him out for not continuing to play.
He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. 'Right,' said Wood. 'Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers.'
'Three Chasers,' Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a football.
'This ball's called the Quaffle,' said Wood. 'The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?'
'The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score,' Harry recited. 'So – that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?'
"That's what I said." Said a first year, excited that someone else thought the same.
'What's basketball?' said Wood curiously.
'Never mind,' said Harry quickly.
'Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper – I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring.'
'Three Chasers, one Keeper,' said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. 'And they play with the Quaffle. OK, got that. So what are they for?' He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.
'I'll show you now,' said Wood. 'Take this.' He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a rounders bat. 'I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do,' Wood said. 'These two are the Bludgers.'
He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.
'Stand back,' Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.
At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it breaking his nose and sent it zig- zagging away into the air – it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.
"You could've made a good Beater too." Noted George.
"But we're better." Added Fred.
'See?' Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. 'The Bludgers rocket around trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. The Weasley twins are ours – it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them towards the other team. So – think you've got all that?'
'Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goalposts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team,' Harry reeled off.
'Very good,' said Wood.
'Er – have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?' Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.
"Not really. They aren't built for that." Explained Madam Hooch.
'Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers –'
'– unless they crack my head open.'
"Dark, Harold. I like it." Said Adrian with a weird smile on.
'Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers – I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves.'
"Thank you, Wood." Called the twins into the crowd even if they knew Oliver wasn't there.
Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.
'This,' said Wood, 'is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages – I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. Well, that's it – any questions?'
Harry shook his head and they started to practice for a little bit. Wood threw him golf balls and he had to fly and catch them, he didn't miss a single one.
"Good job, Harry." Praised Mr and Mrs Weasley.
'That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year,' said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. 'I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons.'
"He isn't wrong." Shrugged Charlie.
"What?" Asked his family.
"I got an offer to play for the team, but I couldn't accept when I had the chance to work with dragons." He said and saw most of his family look at him like they couldn't believe he would ever give up on such a chance for a dream.
Ginny wasn't really close with her three older brothers due their ages and she was closest to the twins, but she knew Charlie would've never been truly happy if he chose anything but dragons. "I'm glad you chased after your dreams." She whispered to him and hugged him.
"I was offered a job to become a teacher here for Astronomy, but I wanted a Muggle job." Shared Ted since he hated the looks Charlie was getting.
*
On Hallowe'en morning Violet woke to the terrible smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. She always hated the smell of pumpkin, it made her nauseous. She skipped breakfast that day to avoid puking because of the pumpkin smell and went directly to Charms.
"I'm glad to hear someone else considers pumpkin disgusting." Noted Tonks. "I hate it and this one loves to tease me about it." She said and pointed at Charlie.
Professor Flitwick announced in 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 practise. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. Violet saw how everyone avoided to work with Neville so she asked Theo to pair with Blaise since she couldn't work with him. Draco was working with Pansy since they were both at the same level when it came to charms. Daphne didn't have any friends left to partner up with so she asked someone from her study group to work with her.
"They mumbled about it for some time, but then Hermione agreed to partner up with Nev in exchange for help with potions and we went back to the previous pairs." Explained Violet to Remus and Snuffles.
"You are a good person, Violet." Smiled Alice.
"He was my friend and he need my help." Shrugged Violet like she said the most logical thing in the world.
'Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practising!' 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.'
Violet already practised the charm and knew she could do it, so she focused on trying to get Neville to succeed. She repeated with him the spell to make sure he will pronounce it properly, corrected his wand movement and encouraged him to try his best and they would work from there.
"This reminds me of Lily tutoring Mary." Said Alice. "Mary only liked Astronomy."
He tried for a few minutes until...
'Wingardium Leviosa.' Said Neville and did exactly what Violet showed him. The feather lifted from the desk, not very high, but it lifted enough to make Neville start laughing and smiling. 'I did it! I finally did it!' He cheered and hugged Violet. 'Thank you so much Violet.'
As they talked and Violet lifted the feather, Mr. Flitwick was sitting in the corner of the classroom and watched the two of them. Many teachers said she was nothing alike her parents, but you didn't know Lily and James Potter well if you said it while looking at their daughter. Sure, she was more reserved, maybe colder and antisocial, but she had the heart of gold of her parents. She saw Neville struggling and other students avoiding working with him and she skipped working with her friends just so she could help him.
Those who got to know James and Lily smiled as they knew how right the professor was. Their Violet just had rougher edges than the others, like Sirius' Reggie.
'Good job, Mr. Longbottom, Ms. Potter.' He said after he went closer to them to watch Violet as she made her feather dance in the air. 'All you need is the confidence Mr. Longbottom and maybe a different wand.' He said as he walked away.
"What the hell was that?" Asked Fred.
"My grandma made me use dad's wand, so I didn't have one of my own." He explained and he could feel the tips of his ears turning red.
Frank turned to his mother. "Really, mum?"
Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class. Hermione kept correcting him and she got it right from her first try, it was maddening. '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.'
'So?' said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. 'She must've noticed she's got no friends.'
"You better thank to Merlin and all wizards that we were told we weren't allowed to punish you for things, Ron." Said Arthur and succeeded to make the boy look nervous. He never saw his dad mad.
Violet usually kept to herself, it was better for everyone. She had a quite nasty temper even if she didn't show it. She'd usually move on and say it isn't her place, but she heard Hermione try and help Ronald and he ignored her, so he had no right to go and talk like that about the girl.
She turned around and glared at him. Those around him, even Harry took a step back, not wanting to make her look at them as cold as she did with Ron. She looked like she debated the best way to steal his soul and sell it. 'Are you kidding me? Just because you suck and couldn't do it doesn't mean she's a nightmare. She tried to help you, but you ignored her, so you deserve it.' She snapped at him and left to check on Hermione to make sure she knew he didn't deserve her attention and tears.
Ginny never loved her friend as much as she did in that moment. She took care of Luna's bullies along with Violet, so she knew the girl had a zero tolerance policy when it came to bullying, but she hadn't heard her be so direct about it. She usually just silently took care of the problem.
The Weasley twins were clapping and cheering, their brother behaved horribly and they were glad someone was there to say something about it.
Violet spent the rest of the afternoon in the girls' toilets sitting on the floor, next to Hermione. She rubbed her back when she puked because of all the crying, tied her hair to avoid her puke getting into her hair and tried her best to make her realise that her worth is not related to some idiot, but what she thought of herself.
Remus knew that if James and Lily were there, they'd be so happy to see just how kind and amazing their daughter was.
'We don't even know each other and yet you spent all afternoon with me on the dirty floor of a bathroom.' Sniffled Hermione as she calmed down.
'Nobody deserves to be treated that way. I just had the guts to say and do what everyone should've done.' Violet shrugged and handed Hermione some napkins. 'He is just a boy, you are what's important. And if he listened to you, he would've gotten it right as well.'
Hermione smiled at her and laughed lightly. She only tried to help. 'It's not exactly what he said as much as he voiced my worst fears. I wasn't popular in the Muggle world as well. Kids used to be mean and everything, but I thought this time will be different.' She whispered sadly as she remembered all about the other children who insulted her over the years.
"It's alright, love. You know we'll hex anyone who even thinks about talking badly about you." Comforted her Draco and he put a hand around her shoulders.
Violet sighed and hugged Hermione. 'If you want to, I can be your friend. I don't promise I will be there as much as you deserve since we're in different houses and my friends demand a lot of attention and I'm not sure if I am in a position to bring someone into the friend group, but you are my friend and I will be there for you when you need me.'
"You basically called us attention seekers without actually saying it." Complained Blaise.
"Am I wrong?" Raised Violet a brow.
Blaise shook his head.
'I'd love to be your friend Violet.' Hermione said and hugged the girl back.
"The start of one of the best and scariest friendships." Narrated Ginny.
*
In the Great Hall, Harry was just helping himself to a jacket potato 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.
"Isn't he the DADA teacher?" Asked Remus, worrying about his competence if he behaved that way when in risk. He was supposed to be a role model, not a "don't do that as well" model.
"I am done with you people." Sighed Amelia and closed her eyes as she felt a migraine settling in.
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!'
"They are fifteen. Just ask seventh years or adults." Mumbled someone.
"The Slytherin house is in the dungeons!" Yelled Mr. Nott.
"Our children could've gotten seriously hurt." Added Narcissa.
"If I kill you know, is it premeditated?" Asked Mrs. Nott.
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 Hallowe'en joke.'
"No, no. Peeves knows they're dangerous. Peeves doesn't want a lot of harm, just a little." Said Peeves as he shook his head.
They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.
'I've just thought – Hermione. What about her? She doesn't know about the troll.'
"And your sister?" Asked Hannah.
Ron bit his lip. 'Oh, all right,' he snapped. 'But Percy better not see us.'
Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor and hurried off towards the girls' toilets. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.
'Percy!' hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.
Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.
"It was actually quite boring. I've seen soap operas with more drama." Complained Violet.
'What's he doing?' Harry whispered. 'Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?'
Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.
"Hermione? Did she become Snape's robe or what?" Asked Fred.
'He's heading for the third floor,' Harry said, but 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.
"For Merlin's stinky armpits!" Cursed Amelia. She was going to finish her parchment by the end of these books.
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 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 incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.
"This is not the troll I knew about. They were supposed to be small and cute and cuddly." Said Luna.
"Maybe it's just a different species." Suggested Neville and smiled when Luna nodded.
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 key's in the lock,' Harry muttered. 'We could lock it in.'
'Good idea,' said Ron nervously.
"Bad idea." Said Hermione and Violet.
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 a string of curse words – and it was coming from the chamber they'd just locked up.
"The scream was me." Informed Hermione.
"The curses were me." Added Violet.
'Oh, no,' said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.
'It's the girls' toilets!' Harry gasped.
'Hermione!' they 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 – they ran inside.
Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. Violet was standing next to her, her wand in hand and pointing in the direction of the troll. She made a few taps fly towards the troll and pushed Hermione in a corner as way from the troll as she could be.
"That was very intelligent, you got the troll confused and the person in shock away from the danger." Praised Remus. He knew what exactly she considered insulting and what was a compliment.
Violet was smiling widely. "Thank you, uncle Moony."
The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.
'No way, meatsack! My brother is way off limits. Alarte Ascendare!' Yelled Violet and her charm made the troll shot in the air and the fall made it confused enough to give her the time to steal his club.
Professor Flitwick looked like he received an early Christmas present. "You did that charm in first year? I teach it only in fourth year and even then most can't do it properly."
All of the adults in Violet's life stared proudly at the screen.
'Come on, run, run!' Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.
"She's in shock. There's a reason Violet put her there." Said Frank. He was sure she would make a great Auror if she wanted to become one.
Ron pulled out his own wand – not knowing what he was going to do, wanting to do something to make sure the troll wouldn't be getting up, he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: 'Wingardium Leviosa!'
"He said it right." Noted Lee, but nobody was listening, they were just staring at the screen.
The club rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over – 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 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. Violet cleaned her skirt of dust and helped Hermione get up.
"Unbothered." Commented Theo and was glad to see Violet giving him a small smile.
It was Hermione who spoke first. 'Is it – dead?'
'I don't think so,' said Harry. 'I think it's just been knocked out.'
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. 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. 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.
Remus was shaking his head disappointedly at the previous professor. It seemed like the kids weren't lying when they said he was the best teacher they ever had.
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Violet, Ron and Harry. 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. 'You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?'
"Because a fifteen year old shouldn't be responsible for eleven year olds." Replied Amelia.
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.'
"So that's why I had been having a different memory of the night." Said Minerva pointedly.
"Sorry, professor McGonagall." Hermione apologised.
'Miss Granger!'
Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. '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.'
"You aren't that stupid. You might be a proud person, but not stupid enough to fight a troll on your own." Noted Pansy.
Ron dropped his wand. 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.'
"Very good." Complimented Ms. Zabini. "There's room for improvement, but good enough."
'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. 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.'
"Five points?" Asked most students.
"I've had worse for not doing my homework." Complained someone.
"I had detention for being hungover during class, not drunk, but hangover." COmplained another.
Hermione left and Professor McGonagall turned to Harry 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 and Slytherin five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go.'
"Five points?" Asked again the students, again thinking about how they should've gotten more.
'Five points?' Asked Violet and gave the professor an incredulous look. 'We had to fight off a troll because you apparently have zero control over what happens in the school even though you have wards! I was in the toilet washing my hands when a troll appeared out of nowhere with a crazy girl behind him. I wasn't lucky, if anything I was unlucky! I am lucky I know how to use charms. What if it was a student who didn't? What if it was a student with no wand on them? What if you did your job right? I am not going to let anyone tell me how my near death experience is worth because I know damn well my life is worth more than any stupid house points.' She said even as Snape, Ron and Harry seemed to want to charm her mouth shut.
"That's what I'm talking about." Said Ginny.
"Like make it make sense." Commented George.
Professor McGonagall looked her in the eye expecting the younger the girl to back down, only Violet was returning the glare with just as much fire. The professor was impressed, she could tell by the damage of the troll there was a spell used that no first year would know. 'I will give Ms Potter another fifteen points for the perfect use of the shooting and the levitation charms and a meet with me on Thursday at five o'clock. Good night.' She said and left the toilets.
Everyone was speechless. Violet's friends at the time heard about this, but they didn't fully believe it. It was too weird for that to happen.
Harry and Ron ran off to their common room as fast as they could. 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.
"They don't deserve it." Called a girl from Ravenclaw.
"They suck!" Yelled someone from Hufflepuff.
*
Violet remained in the bathroom with Snape.
'She lied didn't she?' Asked Snape after only the two of them remained.
Violet thought of her options and chose to tell him the truth. 'Yes.'
'You are a loyal friend for not giving her up, Ms Potter. Make sure you watch carefully who you let get close to you.' Warned Snape and he left the bathroom without saying anything else.
"He's the one to talk." Mumbled Bill. He never liked Snape and working for the Order only made him dislike the professor more.
"It's sad that being loyal is a thing people would take advantage of." Sighed Fleur.
"Who wants to read?" Asked Dumbledore.
"I want to read." Said Fleur. "Quidditch or Brooms can't be cursed... wrong"
Hey!
Hope you liked this chapter.
I added a little bit of Marauders and a little bit of angst to spice thing up a little bit. Though my friend says I overdid it... what's done is done.
I know I skipped the iconic line of Hermione about the Leviosa charm, but I really wanted to do the scene as I did it.
Also, I did kind of write Violet and Theo like Sirius and James, but I swear I didn't realise until one of my friends pointed out. I never meant to shadow their friendship, I just wanted Violet to have someone to somewhat show her what family should be like and not the treatment her brother showed her. As the books go on, their extremely severed connection will make a lot of sense.
I want to make clear that I love Harry, he is a cool character and I read a lot of books where I thought Harry was incredible, but for my story, I mostly focused on his flaws. In the books, he was kind of prejudiced towards the Slytherin house and yes they kind of deserve it, but I do believe J didn't really show more of the shades of the house. She showed so much nuance for other people, showing their strengths and weaknesses.
Most Slytherin haters like to pretend that the pureblood kids are spoiled, but they had to work for it a lot. It was never clearly specified, but I do think the Blacks and other pureblood families were abusive. I believe that most of the kids used slurs because they never knew they were wrong to be used. I believe that if you think about it, most of them were scared to be anything, but what their parents expected due to fear of what might happened if they did. I believe they were raised by house elves and not their parents for most of their lives. I believe they deserve to have freedom at least at Hogwarts, but even there it's scary to do so for they have no idea whether or not the information will get back to their parents. I don't ask anyone to change their opinion based on what I say here, but I wanted to put things in perspective. We only saw one side of them and J inspired them from her bullies, so we never got to truly know them, we only saw their flaws.