Serpent's Lair

During the next few weeks, Harry and Blaise went to visit Hagrid several times, and Hagrid showed them a variety of interesting creatures, which Blaise got on with rather well. She was very enthusiastic about the things Hagrid taught her, and seemed to memorize everything he said. Meanwhile, the tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor had increased tremendously. Ever since the fight between Draco and Weasley, the two of them had been sniping at each other constantly, exchanging insults, threats, and occasional blows. The rest of their houses now entertained a mutual antagonism which expressed itself in glares, slights, insults and short tempers.

One day, as Harry was on his way to dinner, he saw a gaggle of people who all seemed to be focused on something in their midst. He approached the group.

"Say that again!" someone said angrily.

"You evidently heard me the first time," a bored, irritable, and familiar voice replied. Harry pushed his way forward, and saw Theodore Nott confronting a couple of Gryffindors. Harry didn't recognize them, so he assumed they were second- or third- years. Theodore looked frankly indifferent to the fact that they were pointing wands at him, and hadn't even drawn his.

"Two against one?" Harry asked, stepping forward. "That's hardly fair."

"Like you care about that," one of the Gryffindors said, eying him with disgust.

"Careful, Potter," Theodore growled. "You're just going to get involved. I'm fine."

Harry was more than halfway inclined to believe him, but it didn't feel right, abandoning a sort-of friend in this kind of situation.

"Listen," the first Gryffindor said, "You'd better take that back, Nott."

Theodore snorted.

"I mean it..."

"And what terrible fate awaits me if I refuse?" Theodore inquired, unimpressed.

"Draw your wand and you'll find out."

Theodore sneered.

"Dammit, Nott--!"

Theodore stood, arms folded, smirking.

"All right, what's going on here? Break it up, people," an older Gryffindor with a red prefect badge and a pompous voice had just joined the group. The boys who had been confronting Theodore lowered their wands, looking angry. "That's better. Everyone get to dinner now. No fighting in the halls, Dumbledore himself said..."

Harry and Theodore walked to the great hall together. "Harry," Theodore said quietly, stopping just outside the doors, "Why did you jump in like that?"

"I-- it-- I don't know, it seemed like the right thing to do. I didn't realize you were alright."

"I might have been. Maybe. Probably. You have a heroic streak, don't you?"

"I--er..."

"The interesting thing," Theodore continued, looking at Harry with real interest, "Is that you're not conceited about it. If anything, you're embarrassed. Yet you still can't stand seeing anyone in trouble, can you? You still have to save them. Very strange."

Without a further word, Theodore went to the table and sat down. Harry stood there for a moment, trying to absorb this bizarre speech. It was probably the most he'd heard Theodore say so far this term, and it had been disturbingly accurate. Harry decided to let it go for the time being, and went to sit beside Theodore, who greeted him with the barest minimum of a nod.

Just as Harry was starting to wonder where she'd gone, Blaise joined them, almost late, and very disheveled. There were streaks of dirt down one of her arms and on her face, and her hair contained a number of twigs, leaves and tufts of grass. One of her sleeves was torn at the wrist. "I've just been to see Hagrid," she whispered happily to Harry. "He's got some creatures he's taking care of. They're still young, so they're a little wild, and one of them got away, but I got it back and you have to come see them, they're so cute... he's taking care of them, because something killed their mother... he's not sure what they are exactly, but..."

Harry went with her to visit them later, but he found it hard to share Hagrid and Blaise's enthusiasm. The creatures looked like scaly, deformed, furless puppies with sharp teeth, and even Hagrid couldn't quite convince them not to bite. Blaise was wearing her dragon-hide gloves, and so far the creatures hadn't managed to get through them.

On the way back to the castle, Blaise was positively bubbly. "Hagrid's been showing me all kinds of creatures, Harry, and he knows all about them, too, everything from the books and a lot more he's learned on his own...

"He keeps wanting to tell me about something, though, and I can't figure out what. He said he thinks I'd like it, but it's a secret. He was offering to ask Dumbledore if he could make an exception and show me... he says I'll be great in Care of Magical Creatures, that I'm really good with them and I've got the right attitude-- well, if I stop being so jumpy around them... some of them, though, I don't know how he expects me not to be jumpy..."

The weeks went past, and soon Halloween had arrived. Harry and Blaise were suitably impressed by the decorations in the Great Hall: live bats swooped from the ceiling, and all the candles were set in pumpkins. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates before them, but before they could begin, Professor Quirrel 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'd like 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. He ordered the prefects to lead their houses back to their dormitories. Jonas and Alicia hesitated, and Harry saw them conferring quickly. "Why aren't we going?" Blaise whispered, and the teachers hurried out of the hall.

"Because the troll's in the dungeons and so are our dormitories," Arriana told her.

After a moment, Jonas and Alicia reached an agreement. "Listen up!" Jonas shouted. "We're going to the library! Follow me and Alicia!"

The other houses had already left, so the corridors were empty. Jonas and Alicia moved fast; the first years almost had to run to keep up. As they turned a corner, Harry suddenly stopped. Blaise and Theodore both gave him sharp looks. "I, for one, am not fighting a troll," Theodore declared.

"No, not that, I've just thought-- Granger."

Theodore looked blank. "What about her?"

"I overheard some Gryffindors-- she's in the girl's bathroom-- she doesn't know about the troll."

"Well, they can go warn her about it, then."

"If they remember to," Blaise put in. She seemed to share Harry's concern. "How long ago did you hear this?"

"About an hour before the feast."

"Keep walking," Theodore ordered. "They'll notice if we just stop."

"They're distracted," Harry pointed out, drawing back further so that the bend in the corridor hid them from Jonas and Alicia.

"Is it the bathroom on this floor?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know--"

"I am not searching every girl's bathroom in Hogwarts to a trumped-up Mud--"

"I'm going," Harry snapped. "You two do what you like."

Blaise followed him. "I know the locations of the girl's bathrooms better than you do, Harry," she whispered.

He grinned. "Thanks, Blaise."
They started down a deserted corridor. Footsteps sounded behind them. They turned to see a very sour-looking Theodore hurrying after them.

"I do not believe you two idiots," he growled, matching their hurried speed. "Bloody Gryffindors, both of you."

"No, Gryffindors--" Blaise stopped. "Sh!"

Harry had already stopped. Theodore stood still, looking rather like Goyle attempting to understand school work, but considerably more sullen.

"Professor Snape," Harry explained, slowly. "He was heading for the third floor."

"He's out of earshot," Blaise told them. "Come on-- oh!"

Something huge was finishing its trek into a doorway-- Harry and Theodore caught the tail end of a club, but the smell that wafted down the corridor gave them a good guess as to what the thing had been.

"The key's in the lock," Harry whispered. "We could lock it in--"

"That's the girl's bathroom!" a white-faced Blaise hissed.

"I guess if she's in there, she'll figure out the troll's here without us telling her..." Theodore muttered.

Seeing Harry's expression, Blaise grabbed his arm. "Wait! We don't even know if she's in there--"

"And I, as I said before, do not consider her--"

But Theodore was interrupted by a scream-- a high, petrified scream of pure terror. Theodore went white, and his eyes widened, as if he had just seen a horrifying scene in the corridor wall.

It was the last thing Harry wanted to do, but he sprinted toward the door-- and so, to his surprise, did Theodore. They reached the doorway and stared in horror at the scene within. Hermione Granger 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. It raised its club, and Hermione screamed again, the shrill, desperate scream of someone who was about to die--

"No!" Harry seized a tap and threw it as hard as he could against the wall. The troll lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. "Confuse it!" Harry shouted at Theodore-- but Theodore was in no state to answer him. He was standing absolutely still, a few paces into the room, shaking visibly. The white showed all around his eyes.

The troll was advancing on Harry. Where's Blaise? Where's Blaise when I need her... he backed toward the door. It was the best ploy he could think of: to lure it out and down the hall, away from his panicking friends. But it was turning toward Theodore...

"No! Over here!" Harry yelled at it.

The troll once again lumbered toward Harry. He backed up just a little bit, and shouted again. Behind the troll, he could see Theodore moving toward Granger. He reached her, and tried to pull her toward the door, but she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror, and for all Theodore's urging she would not budge.

The troll's club moved much faster than Harry had expected. He threw himself out of its path, and it left an imprint like a crater in the floor where he'd been standing. He heard Blaise shriek, and a metal pipe bounced off the troll's head. Its attention turned to her.

Harry scrambled to his feet. Blaise stood there, facing down a ten-foot troll. She looked positively sick with fear, but she had her wand out and was shrieking every spell that came into her head, none of which were actually working.

Harry yelled again, but that was a mistake. The troll turned, following the echoes, and made straight for Theodore 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. The troll howled with pain.

Hermione's nerve failed her completely, and she would have sunk to the floor if Theodore had not grabbed the front of her robes. "Dammit, Granger!" he yelled. "You're supposed to be smart! Do something!" And he struck her full across the face, as hard as he could. That seemed to bring her back to herself a bit.

Theodore watched numbly as 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. There was nothing he could do.

"Hit it, Granger!" he heard Blaise scream. "Spells don't work! Hit it with--"

Hermione had clearly gotten the idea. Her eyes flicked briefly around the room, and then she pointed her wand at the troll's club. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned 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 got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Hermione slowly lowered her wand, staring at the unmoving troll.

It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is-- is it dead?"

"I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."

"What-- what are you guys doing here?" Hermione asked after a moment, looking around in confusion.

"Following an idiot," Theodore answered, glancing at Harry. Theodore, Harry noticed, was shaking like a leaf. Blaise walked over to the last remaining sink and quietly threw up. "Never again, Potter. Got it?"

Hermione looked at Harry, a little confused, as if seeing him for the first time. "You--" she looked from him to Theodore to Blaise. "Why?"

Harry noticed that her face was tear-streaked, and suddenly wondered why she'd been crying. Was it that strange to her that they would have come after her?

Before he could think of a response, they heard a door slam, and loud footsteps approaching. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrel bringing up the rear. Quirrel took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat down quickly on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at each of the children in turn, as if trying to decide which of them she was most angry with. Her lips were white.

"What were you thinking of?" Professor McGonagall demanded, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look, and any hopes Harry had had of winning points for Slytherin faded from his mind. He looked at the floor.

Then, in a small voice, Hermione said, "Please, Professor McGonagall, they-- they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

"I was looking for the troll because-- because I thought I could deal with it-- I mean, I'd read all about them, and--"

Harry, Theodore and Blaise all turned to watch her. She was inventing a lie on the spot; would it get them out of trouble?

"When I found the troll I-- I panicked. If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Potter and Zabini distracted it, and then Potter stuck his wand up its nose, and Nott got me back to my senses and we dropped a club on its head. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone, Professor. It was about to finish me off when they got here."

Professor McGonagall was stunned. In the momentary silence, Snape cut in. "Minerva, if I may... these three are, after all, my students... Potter, what really happened?"

"Basically that, Professor," Harry replied.

"Basically, Potter? I don't think so. I think your friend here," --he glanced disdainfully at Hermione-- "is lying through her teeth. Why would she be doing that?"

Harry didn't answer.

"Five points from Slytherin," Snape said. "And Potter, the next time you decide to break the rules like this the consequences with be far worse. You are not immortal, you are not invincible, and you are not specially exempt from obeying the rules. Go to bed, all of you."

Harry, Blaise and Theodore filed slowly from the room. Harry had seen the stunned looks on the other teachers' faces when Snape had taken those points away. Snape did favor his own house, quite blatantly. Harry had never heard him actually take points from Slytherin before.

"He really does hate you..." Blaise murmured. She was still not quite the right color.

"Let's get to bed," Theodore said shortly. "We'll talk tomorrow, once our heart rates are back to normal. Harry, if you ever drag me on something like that again, I swear..."