NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Chapter 18
Chapter 18
He didn't feel a whole lot better about the situation when October 31st rolled around. He kept a close eye on Hermione during lessons, but to his surprise, she seemed to be in a cheery mood as the Halloween Feast approached. She wasn't bullied quite as badly in this timeline – perhaps being a Ravenclaw made others accept her bookish nature more. Harry realized that she was unlikely to be isolated from the rest of the school when the troll attacked.
Was the whole plan a bust? Should Harry just find another way to get the three together another time? Still, he felt that he had a golden opportunity to manufacture something positive with his foreknowledge of events. So he concocted a new plan, one that he hoped would be far safer and more foolproof.
Harry feigned surprise along with the other students when Professor Quirrell burst into the hall during dessert, white as a sheet. "TROLL!" he bellowed. "T-troll in the dungeons!" And he promptly fainted, falling flat on his face, causing the room to descend into chaos.
"How frightening!" Hermione remarked, turning to Harry as the prefects began to shout instructions. "Shall we head back to the common room?"
"I'm gonna go find the troll," Harry said firmly. "I bet I can stop it myself."
"What?!" Hermione exclaimed. "B-but it could be dangerous!"
"I'll be fine," Harry shrugged, standing to leave. "See you later."
Hermione grabbed his arm as Harry moved to leave. "You can't!" she said firmly. "You'll get in trouble! What if a teacher saw you—?"
"Don't you dare tell any teachers," Harry snapped at her. "Or I'll never forgive you." And he wrenched his arm free, slipping away through the crowd and out of the Great Hall.
Harry felt that he knew Hermione well enough to predict what she'd do next. She wouldn't go to a teacher, with such a friendship-ending threat looming over her head. She would go to the person she was closest to next for help. And with her failing to make any other friends this term besides Harry, that would be the two boys she met on the train – Neville and Ron.
Meanwhile, Harry headed down to the dungeons to find the troll. It wasn't difficult – he found it lumbering down a corridor near the Potions classroom. He'd done a bit of research over the past week and found that trolls were exceedingly stupid and easy to control if you knew what you were doing. As long as you didn't get close enough to get hit by its club, they posed virtually no threat.
Still, Harry kept his distance, following the troll from a distance while concealed beneath a Disillusionment Charm. He'd been practicing the spell in his free time – it wasn't perfect, but he was hidden enough to avoid detection if nobody was looking too closely. He'd meant to ask his father about the Invisibility Cloak, unsure if it even existed in this timeline, but that was a question for another day.
Harry's hunch proved correct, as minutes later, Hermione, Ron and Neville skidded into view, freezing at the sight of the troll. Hermione gave an involuntary scream, which unfortunately drew the attention of the troll, who turned and began to lumber after them.
"Watch out!" Neville exclaimed, pulling Hermione behind him. He pointed his wand at the massive beast. "Flipendo!"
Neville's Knockback Jinx bounced harmlessly off the troll's thick skin. However, Harry silently cast a Leg-Locker Hex on the troll from behind, aiming precisely at the back of its knees where he knew the skin wasn't as thick. The troll groaned as it stumbled and fell flat on its stomach, its head bouncing comically off the stone floor. The troll began to snore, knocked out cold from the blow.
"Y-you got it!" Hermione gasped, throwing her arms around a dumbfounded Neville. "Thank you! And you, Ronald, for helping!"
"Er...my pleasure," said Ron, accepting Hermione's hug.
A clatter of footsteps heralded the arrival of several staff members, Professor McGonagall at the head. "My goodness!" she gasped when she saw the massive troll on the ground. "Explain yourself, you three!"
Neville and Ron looked at each other, but it was Hermione who answered. "It's my fault, Professor," she said, feigning contrition. "I went looking for the troll, and Neville and Ron tried to stop me. They saved me when the troll charged at us." The two boys once again shared an incredulous look, but remained silent.
"That was incredibly foolish, Miss Granger!" McGonagall said, looking flustered. "Ten points from Ravenclaw for putting yourself at such risk. As for you two, take five points each for your Houses for saving her, but don't ever try something so foolhardy again!"
"Yes, Professor," said Neville and Ron glumly.
"Let's get you back to your common rooms, then," McGonagall sighed. She herded the three students down the hall as the other staff members secured the troll. Harry watched from a secret alcove behind a tapestry, as Neville and Ron supporting a shaking Hermione on either side. The sight filled Harry with warmth as he realized his gambit had paid off.
The golden trio, together as they ought to be,thought Harry. He knew such a harrowing experience would bond them together for life, and was glad he hadn't inserted himself into the equation. Neville needed that strong core to rely on, to draw strength and inspiration from – Harry would just be one too many cooks in the kitchen. No, Harry would keep his distance, allow the trio to grow and learn to trust one another, without expecting someone else to swoop in and save the day for them.
Is this how Dumbledore feels all the time? Harry wondered as he crept out from behind the tapestry and stole back towards Ravenclaw Tower. Pulling the puppet strings from afar and watching his risks pay off? Something about it felt wrong, and yet immensely satisfying. If Harry could use his foreknowledge of certain events to his advantage more often, he might just be able to craft a better world not just for Neville, but for everyone around him as well.
"Potter!" a voice shouted, breaking him from his reverie. Harry froze and turned to see Professor Snape stalking towards him, looking furious. "What are you doing out alone? You were instructed to follow your prefects back to the common room!"
"Sorry, Professor, I...got lost," Harry said lamely.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw for your carelessness," Snape spat. "I expected better of you, Potter. I had hoped you would take after your mother, but you still have far too much of your father in you." And Snape turned to leave, striding off in the opposite direction. Harry couldn't help but notice he was favoring his left side, limping slightly – he must have been successful in his efforts to head off Quirrell from the trapdoor, just as before.
Harry returned to Ravenclaw Tower soon after, where he endured a dressing-down from Penelope Clearwater for arriving late, and retired to bed early. Snape's parting words bothered him, but not for the reason he expected. In his original timeline he had fiercely defended his father's honor, unwilling to hear slander against his character. But now, having seen Snape's memory of the bullying he endured, and hearing Uncle Peter's account of feeling left out of James' inner circle, he felt uneasy about the comparison to his father.
But I'm not a bully, am I? Harry wondered. I defended Peter from those Slytherins after all!Though maybe that too was rather more like his father, seeking out a fight rather than taking the diplomatic approach. What would his mother have done? Defended Peter but stayed out of the fight? Perhaps he ought to write her and ask her opinion. He often forgot that was an option in his new timeline.
I'm not alone in this, he reminded himself. I have people who care about me, and want to help. He slowly drifted off to sleep, comforted by the knowledge that he had a support system he could rely upon.
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