Halloween

With all that was going on the Quidditch practice three evenings a week, your normal lesson on top of that all of your homework which Parvati and Padma Patil helped you keep up, You could hardly believe it when you realized that it had already been at Hogwarts two months. You seemed to have mastered flying in a month.

On Halloween morning you woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought your class were ready to start making objects fly, something you had all been dying to try. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. You were working with Parvati Patil, Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan. Ron, was going to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to You, Ron or Harry since the day Your broomsticks 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 difficult to get the movement down the incantation was easy enough. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it.

Ron, at the table next to you, wasn't having much more luck.

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

"Watch it Ron!" You shouted as his wand nearly hit you in the eye.

"Sorry." He sighed

"You're saying it wrong," You heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing- gar -dium Levi- 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 gown, you watched the wand movement as she 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!"

You got your wand ready once their feather landed, You flicked your wand the same way she did, "Wingardium Leviosa!" You said clearly. The feather on yours and Parvati's desk rose gentley like it was getting carried by the wind.

"Well done Mister Gaunt," His voice squeaked "Now who will be the third." Towards the end of lesson you and the other students were allowed a bit of free time, Ron and Hermione were avoiding talking to each other, Ron was talking to Harry while Hermione you noticed was trying to look over towards your Conversation with Parvati.

"I just wanted to thank you and your sister for helping me keep up with my work." You said to Parvati.

"It's no problem, I'm ha- we're happy to help anytime, besides you have to concentrate on Quidditch." She stammered, You took a moment to look over at Hermione who you knew was starring at you, She quickly looked at her book.

Class ended you could tell Ron was annoyed at Hermione for being a know it all. As you pushed your way into the crowded corridor out of class. "Its Levi- o -sa, not Levi- o -sarr," Ron was mimicking Hermione, "she's a nightmare, honestly. It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends."

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

"I think she heard you." You noted

Special Halloween Feast

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On your way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, You, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. You felt sorry for her and Ron looked more guilty at hearing about it. You had just entered the Great Hall a moment ago, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of your 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, mist hanging low on the ground people walked through it parting it briefly before it flowed back into place. While chatting with Harry the feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

You were just helping yourself to some food on the table when Professor Quirrell the defense against the dark arts Professor that had seemed to give you alot of attention, came sprinting through the grand doors into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. "Troll -- in the dungeons," he shouted in fear "Troll -- in the dungeons -- thought you ought to know." Everyone stared as he almost reached the teachers table before he collapsed in a dead faint face first on the the cold stone ground making the mist disperse away from him.

There was a roar of screams from the students and a mass panic from many, many of the students got up to start running out of the hall.

Dumbledore Stood up and at the top of his lungs bellowed "SILENCE!" Everyone stopped and turnt to him. "Everyone, Please do not panic." He said with his commanding voice "Prefects," he rumbled, "Lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" As you got up you noticed you could no longer see where Professor Quirrell lay.

Percy immediately rounded the first year Gryffindors up. "Follow me! and Stick together first years, No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders!" He said trying to reassure us although you could tell he wasn't quite telling the truth. "Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!" He managed to get us through all of the other students.

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as you 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."

You passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As you jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, You suddenly realised somthing.

"I've just thought -- Hermione." You said

"What about her?" Ron said, you Saw that Harry had caught on.

"She doesn't know about the troll, Come on we need to warn her." you said as you turned around to follow the Hufflepuffs to the Dungeons, Harry following you.

"Oh, all right," he snapped joining the horde of Hufflepuffs. "But Percy'd better not see us."

Ducking down, You joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way down to the Dungeons, then you slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. You had just turned the corner when you heard quick footsteps behind you.

Ron pulled you and Harry behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, you saw Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

Being as Quiet as possible, You crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.

"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said.

Ron held up his hand. "Can you smell something?"

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

And then you 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 You. You shrank into the shadows with Ron and Harry and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, 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 the girls'bathroom doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"It's gone into the girls bathroom, Hermiones in there!" you uttered, Ron just gulped loudly. A high, petrified scream came from the bathroom, You sprinted to the door Ron and Harry just behind you

Inside the bathroom Hermione Granger was looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was stood in front of her.

"Hermione, move." Harry yelled as the troll was lifting his club, Hermione jumped into one of the wooden stalls and lay on the ground as the Troll smashed the stalls horizontally leaving no tops to the stalls.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber next to you, 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 toward Ron instead, Hermione started to crawl towards the sinks across from the stalls but the troll noticed.

"Watch out Hermione" You shouted, she moved just in time, The troll smashed the ground with his club tiles flew he swung again smashing a couple of sinks just next to Hermione, she screamed again. You needed to do something to stop the troll, you remembered a spell that the Patil twins were trying to teach you its worth a shot.

You pulled your wand out, flicking the wand in a sort of tent motion "Incendio" you said, a jet of orange and red sparks hit the trolls rag and burst into a small flame. In the confusion Harry ran behind it, Hermione ran past the troll to you, she grabbed your arm and hid behind you. The troll tried to put out the fire on its rag but it didn't know what to do so it started shouting, the flames seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started walking toward You and Hermione.

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, a disgusting sight.

Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second now the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club, Not a sight you want to see.

Hermione and you were frozen, You didn't know what to do you saw Ron pull out his own wand -- hesitating, what was he going to do. He flicked his wand "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. Harry had been thrown from the troll.

Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, You and Hermione were staring at what he had done.

It was Hermione who spoke first. "Is it -- dead?"

"I don't think so," You said, I think 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 and green glue.

"Urgh -- troll boogers." Ron remarked

Harry wiped it on the troll's trousers.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. You hadn't realized what a racket you 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 You, Ron and Harry. "What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Ron was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Then a small voice came out of from behind you.

"Please, Professor McGonagall," Hermione broke in "They were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall looked suprised.

"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." She surmised, Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Marvolo Cast the Incendio at the troll, 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 me off when they arrived." You looked over at the troll the fire that you cast no longer there.

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

Hermione hung her head. You were speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get you out of trouble.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you."

Professor McGonagall turned to You, 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 five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." You hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until you had climbed two floors up.

"Good of you to get us out of trouble like that." Harry admitted.

"Mind you, we did save your life." Ron defended.

"Mind you, She might not have needed saving if you hadn't insulted her." You reminded him. You saw a little smirk from Hermione.

You had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout." You said, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered after you.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up from the feast, Hermione hadn't talked on the way to the common room, She turned to you, Harry and Ron and said "Thanks." After that you all hurried off to get plates for everything that was left.