IN WHICH they find an unlikely friend

AUBERY FELT stupid. Halloween day was today, and she was learning Charms. The first Halloween as an 11-year-old and she couldn't go trick-or-treating. She shrugged it off, listening to the lecture that Flitwick was issuing.

"One of a wizard's most rudimentary skills is levitation the ability to make objects fly. Uh, do you all have your feathers?" Professor Flitwick asks, as Hermione raises hers. "Good. Now, uh, don't forget the nice wrist movement we've been practicing, hmm? The swish and flick. Everyone."

"The swish and flick." The class repeats.

"Good. And enunciate. Wingardium Leviosa. Off you go then." Flitwick says, opting everyone to whip out their wands and try.

"So, how was your study session with Arwin?" Aubery asks Eliza, who blushed slightly.

"Good. That's all." Eliza smiles.

"Oh, well done! See here, everyone! Ms. Granger's done it! Oh, splendid!" Flitwick smiles. "Well done, dear." 

Hermione smiles softly to herself, as Ron puts his head on his book. An almighty explosion flashes. Flitwick gasps, as Ron and Hermione turn to the source of the explosion.

"Whooaaa! Ooh."

Seamus is charred again with his feather, now smoldering to ashes.

"I think we're going to need another feather over here, Professor." Harry comments.

"Someone take Mr. Finnigan to the Hospital Wing please." Flitwick says.

"Aubery can!" Dean says, pushing Aubery slightly. Aubery glares at him.

"Alright, Ms. Lupin, please demostrate the Charm please." Flitwick sighs.

"Windgardium Leviosa!" Aubery chants, and the feather lifts up.

"Alright, come on Ms. Lupin." Flitwick beckons, and Aubery stands up and pulls a blushing Seamus out of the room, not noticing Dean's wink at him, mouthing "Go get her!" 

"Seriously Seamus! This is like, what? The 5th time? This entire month, and September! Are you a pyromanic?" Aubery shakes her head, wiping some black dust from his face. 

Seamus blushed. "Yeah, you could say I'm a bit of a pyromanic, but I don't want everything I try to do blow up!" 

"Then try not to. You can do it." Aubery smiles.

"You're really pretty when you smile." Seamus blurts out.

"What?" Aubery lets go Seamus' hand.

"In a friendly way!" Seamus says, an octave higher.

"Cute." Aubery smirks, grabbing his hand again. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary, hotshot." 

"O-Okay." Seamus smiles, as Aubery leads him into the Infirmary.

That Halloween night, the great hall has floating Jack O'Lanterns in place of the candles. Aubery notices an empty spot on the bench.

"Where's Hermione?" Aubery asks.

"Parvati Patil said that she wouldn't come out of the girl's bathroom. She said that she'd been in there all afternoon...crying." Parvati informs. 

"Why would she be crying?" Aubery asks as Harry glances at Ron with a disapproving look on his face; Ron shrugs. 

"Ron insulted her, really badly." Eliza shook her head.

Suddenly, Professor Quirrell comes running into the Great Hall in panic. "TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON! T-TROOLLL IN THE DUNGEON!!" Dumbledore rises from his seat in concern. Everyone look at Quirrell and he stops and there is utter silence. "Thought you ought to know." He passes out. The room is silent, and then everyone freaks out, screaming and running.

"Oh god!" Lavender shrieks.

"We're all going to die!" Dean cries.

"SILLLLLEEENNNNCEEEEE!" Dumbledore yells and everyone stops and calms down. "Everyone will please, not panic. Now, Prefects will lead their houses back to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

"Hufflepuff, this way!" A girl shouts.

"Stay together!" Another boy yells.

"The Slytherin's dormitories, aren't they in the dungeon?" Eliza whispers.

"Good, now Malfoy has a high-chance of getting clobbered to death." Aubery hisses.

Percy is leading the house down a corridor, as the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws part ways. "Gryffindors, keep up please. And stay alert!"

"How could a troll get in?" Harry whispers.

"Not by itself. Trolls are really stupid. Probably people playing jokes." Ron whispers. Suddenly, Aubery stops, letting Eliza go foward, and pulls Harry and Ron aside. "What?"

"Hermione! She doesn't know!" Aubery whispers. The three separate themselves from the crowd and they run down corridors. They start running down a hall when they stop, because there is a grunting noise and a large shadow on the wall.

"I think the troll's left the dungeon!" Ron says, as Harry pulls Ron into a doorway, they peer out to see a large, ugly troll thunks by into a room.

"It's going into the Girl's Bathroom!" Aubery gasps. They sprint toward it, as they Hermione scream, Harry, Aubery, and Ron come bursting in.

"Hermione, move!" Harry orders, as the troll smashes the remaining stalls.

"Help! Help!" Hermione shrieks as the trio start throwing wood pieces at the troll.

"Hey, pea brain!" Ron throws wood and hits the troll on the head. Hermione escapes from the stalls to under a sink, but the troll sees her and goes to smash her. It cracks the sink and barely misses Hermione. Harry and Aubery cringes.

"Ahhh! Help!" Hermione shrieks, as Harry gets out his wand. He runs forward and grabs the troll's club, and is lifted up.

"Come on Hermione!" Aubery yells, whipping out her wand. 

"Whooa! Whoa, whoa!" Harry lands on the troll's head, and is hurled forward, then back, and his wand shoots up the troll's nose.

"Ew." Ron yells. Aubery, Ron, and Hermione were disgusted by Harry's wand in the troll's nose. The troll snorts, and whips around.

"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Harry yells, as the troll gets Harry off its head and is holding him by one leg, upside down.

"Do something!" Aubery yells. It gears up its club and swipes at Harry. He pulls himself up, then down. The troll swipes again.

"What?" Ron yells, as the troll swipes at Harry repeatedly.

"Anything! Hurry up!" Harry yells, as Aubery dives at the troll. It kicks her into a wall of destroyed stalls. Ron grabs his wand. Under the sink, Hermione waves her hand.

"Swish and flick!" Hermione mimes.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron yells, as the club is lifted out of the troll's hand and hovers above its head. The troll looks up, confused, just as the club comes crashing back down. "Cool." It hits the troll's head that hard and the troll wavers, then drops Harry, who crawls away, and slowly comes crashing down, knocking him out. Hermione approaches carefully.

"Is it...dead?" Hermione asks, as Aubery sits up, groaning and rubbing her head.

"I don't think so. Just knocked out." Harry grabs his wand...which is covered in mucus. "Ew. Troll bogies." He wipes his wand on his robes. Suddenly, McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell come rushing in. They all gasp at the knocked out troll.

"Oh! Oh, my goodness! E-Explain yourselves, all of you!" McGonagall gasps. 

"Well, what it is..." Harry, Ron, and Aubery starts.

"It's my fault, Professor McGonagall." Hermione cuts them off. The teachers, Ron, Aubery, and Harry look at her.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall gasps, aghast.

"I went looking for the troll. I'd read about them and thought I could handle it. But I was wrong. If Harry, Aubery, and Ron hadn't come and found me...I'd probably be dead." Hermione shook her head, not daring to meet the teachers eyes.

"Be that as it may be...it was an extremely foolish thing to do." McGongall says, Harry notices Snape's leg, which has the trousers' leg torn and a large cut on it. Snape notices and covers it up, glaring at Harry. "I would have expected more rational behavior on your part, Miss Granger. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment." 

She turns to Aubery, Harry, and Ron. "As for you two gentlemen and lady, I just hope you realize how fortunate you are. Not many students could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Five points...will be awarded to each of you." Harry, Ron, and Aubery grin at each other. "For sheer dumb luck." Snape and McGonagall leave the bathroom.

"Perhaps you ought to go...M-might wake up...heh." Professor Quirrell stutters, as Harry, Ron and Hermione exit the bathroom. Quirrell looks at the unconscious troll. The troll growls, seemingly going to wake up. "Ahh! Hehe...."

Harry, Ron, Aubery, and Hermione are walking back to the Gryffindor Common Room through the corridor.

"Good for you to get us out of trouble like that." Harry smiles at Hermione.

"Mind you, I mean, we did save her life." Ron adds.

"Mind you, she didn't need saving if you hadn't insulted her." Aubery points out, as Hermione looks at Ron.

"What are friends for?" Ron asks, and they both smile at each other as they carry on through the corridor.

The next morning, in the great hall. The gang is sitting, eating as Harry is twirling his food on a fork.

"Take a bit of toast, mate, go on." Ron says, motioning to his food.

"Here, have some water. It should make you feel better." Aubery pours a glass of water for Harry.

"Ron's right, Harry. You're gonna need your strength today." Hermione says.

"I'm not hungry." Harry shakes his head as Snape appears at the table.

"Good luck today, Potter. Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it is against Slytherin." Snape walks off, limping.

"That explains the blood." Harry says.

"Blood?" Hermione asks.

"Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that 3 headed dog. But, he got himself bitten, that's why he's limping." Harry assmues.

"But why would anyone go near that dog?" Hermione asks.

"The day I was at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults. He said it was Hogwarts' business, very secret." Harry whispers.

"So you're saying..." Aubery starts.

"That's what the dog's guarding. That's what Snape wants." Harry concludes.

Hedwig screeches as she enters the Great Hall. She is carrying a very large, long parcel. She drops it off at the table.

"Bit early for mail, isn't it?" Hermione comments.

"But I-I never get mail." Harry says, befuddled.

"Let's open it." Ron suggests. They open it to reveal a broomstick.

"It's a broomstick!" Aubery gasps.

"Thats not just any broomstick. It's a Nimbus 2000!" Ron gasps. 

"But who...?" Harry starts, but he notices Professor McGonagall up at the head table, stroking Hedwig. She smiles and Harry nods.

Later on, inside a Quidditch tower, the Gryffindor team is marching towards the starting gate. They reach it and stop, behind a closed double door.

"Scared, Harry?" Oliver asks.

"A little." Harry admits.

"That's all right. I felt the same way before my first game." Oliver empathizies. 

"What happened?" Harry asks. 

"Er, I don't really remember. I took a bludger to the head 2 minutes in. Woke up in the hospital a week later." Oliver says. Harry gulps and looks straight ahead as the doors open. They mount their brooms and zoom out onto the enormous pitch, loud cheering is heard throughout the stadium. Lee Jordan, the Quidditch commentator is announcing from a tower.

"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts' first Quidditch game of the season! Today's game Slytherin versus Gryffindor!!!" Lee announces. 

"Gryffindor!" Neville yells. The players take their positions in the air in a circle. Harry weaves in, highest amongst. He looks down.

"The players take their positions as Madam Hooch steps out onto the field to begin the game." Lee says.

"Now, I want a nice clean game...from all of you." She looks at Slytherin. She kicks the trunk, and the bludgers zoom out.

"The bludgers are up...followed by the Golden Snitch. Remember, the snitch is worth 150 points. The seeker who catches the Snitch ends the game." Lee reminds the crowd as the snitch zooms around each Seeker's head, then disappears. Hooch grabs the Quaffle.

"The Quaffle is released...and the game begins!" 

Gryffindor takes possession of the ball and a chaser, Angelia Johnson, zooms past the Slytherins towards their goal, and throws the ball, and scores! There is a ding.

"Angelina Johnson scores! 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee presses a button and a 10 shows up beside a plaque with Gryffindor's name. Harry, in the air, claps.

"Yes!" Harry cheer, as bludger suddenly zooms by him. "Whoa!"

In the stands, Gryffindor students cheer loudly.

"Well done!" Hagrid cheers.

"Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle. Bletchley passes to Captain Marcus Flint." Lee says.

Flint dodges people and throws for the Gryffindor hoops. Oliver appears and whacks the ball away with his broom. He smirks at Flint, who glares. Johnson and Katie Bell pass the Quaffle back and forth as they strategize to score. Johnson takes it, throws, and once again scores!

"Yay!" Ron and Seamus cheer.

"Yes!" Harry cheers.

"Another 10 points to Gryffindor!" Lee adds another 10 to the score with a ding.

"Yay!" The Gryffindors cheer.

The Slytherins decide to get messy. They dodge, kick, and try to score. Once again, Oliver blocks.

"Give me that!" Flint grabs a beaters bat from one and whacks a bludger right at Oliver. It hits Oliver directly in the stomach and he plummets to the ground, knocked out.

This causes the entire audience to boo; Harry is visibly upset as the Slytherins laugh.  One jumps over George and scores. Lee adds 10 points in the plaque with Slytherin's name. Slytherin cheers.

"Katie, Alicia, Angelina cover me!" Ivy yells, as she dives down toward the Slytherins, and pulls up quickly, grabbing the ball from the Slytherin Chaser. She flies forward, and shoots a goal. The Gryffindors cheer loudly.

"Great job Ivy!" Lee adds 10 points to the Gryffindor plaque.

"Take that side!" Flint yells. They box Angelina in and sent her into the capes covering one of the towers. She falls down in and is out. The crowd boos. Slytherin scores once again.

Suddenly, Harry sees the Snitch. He starts to head off after it and then suddenly his broom starts bucking and turning.

"Whoa! Whooa!" Harry yells.

"What's going on with Harry's broomstick?" Hagrid asks. Hermione looks through binoculars at Harry, then at Snape, who is visibly muttering.

"It's Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" Hermione gasps.

"Jinxing the broom? What do we do?" Ron asls.

"Leave it to me. Hermione, I'm going to need your brains for this." Aubery says, and Hermione hands Ron her binoculars and leaves the stands.

Harry is knocked and thrown around, then falls, dangling by one arm from the broom.

"Come on, girls!" Ron says, concerned.

"He's going to fall!" Eliza gasps.

Hermione and Aubery is hurrying up in the tower structures. They appear underneath Snape.

"Quick, give me a spell." Aubery whispers.

"Lacarnum Inflamarae." Hermione says.

Aubery touches his cloak with her wand. "Lacarnum Inflamarae." A spark ignites and Snape's cloak catches fire. Hermione and Aubery quickly leave.

"Fire! You're on fire!" A man yells.

"What? Oh!" Snape knocks the man back, who falls into Quirrell, who then also falls. Snape bats out the fire and acts as though nothing happened. The broom stop bucking, and Harry climbs back on. The Slytherin seeker is after the Snitch, and Harry takes off. 

"Go!" Ron yells. 

"Go go go!" Hagrid cheers.

Harry rams the Slytherin Seeker, then is butted out. He returns, smashing the Seeker again as the Snitch dives. The boys follow, but they approach the ground quickly. The Slytherin Seeker backs out, and Harry pulls up his broom as he follows the Snitch, feet above the ground. Harry stands up, and steps forward, trying to grab the ball. He goes too far, and topples off the broom with a yelp, tumbling on the ground. He gets up and lurches. The crowd gasps. Hermione and Aubery appear beside a tower to see.

"Looks like he's gonna be sick!" Hagrid gasps.

"Oh no!" Aubery gasps. Harry lurches and the Snitch pops out of his mouth. It lands in his hands.

"He's got the Snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the Snitch!" Lee cheers.

Madam Hooch blows her whistle whilst riding on her broomstick. "Gryffindor wins!" The crowd cheers in joy.

"No!" Draco gasps, dismayed. 

"Yes!" Hagrid cheers.

"Whoo-hoo!" Hermione and Aubery jump up and down excitedly. McGonagall giggles happily, as Harry raises the Snitch into the air and the crowd, and his team, cheers.

"Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor!" The crowd cheers.