FicWad

Chapter 4
"What did your 'Ginny Weasley' strategy say about Halloween?" Janie asked me as October arrived. "Did it mention a troll?"

"Yes - in a girls' lavatory," I nodded. "My 'Ron Weasley' strategy mentioned it, too. It sounded like Ron and I would need to rescue someone."

"Me," Janie concurred. "My 'Ron Weasley' strategy said that if I were cornered by a troll on Halloween, to scream bloody murder and wait for help to arrive. So you and Ron were to be my knights in shining armor, then!" she laughed.

"Wingardium Leviosa is a very useful spell. According to The Book, it works much better than simply jamming your wand up the troll's nose."

"Are you saying that Ron would have jammed his wand up a troll's nose!?" she laughed. "How utterly stupid!"

"Er..." I blushed.

"What!? You!?" Janie gaped at me. "Why on Earth would you do such a thing?"

"As a stop-gap measure, I suspect. As a diversion - to keep the troll from killing you."

"Trolls are huge! How would you even reach its nose?"

"I was to jump on its back. I think."

"Would you?" she eyed me skeptically.

"To save your life? Sure!"

"Wow..." Janie breathed in disbelief.

"What do you suppose we should do instead?" I hurried to change the subject. "Now that there is no Ron?"

"Well, my 'Harry Potter' strategy hinted that I should ignore any rude comments from Ron and take particular notice of Snape's limp just after Halloween. It seemed to be a clue of some sort."

"Mine mentioned Snape's limp, also!" I exclaimed. "It must be important!"

"Perhaps he got it from the troll," Janie postulated. She was good at postulating, it seemed, so I always took her postulations seriously. "Maybe we should follow him on Halloween. Perhaps we'll have to rescue him from the troll, then he wouldn't dislike us quite so much."

"Hate us, you mean!"

"Still..."

"I'm not sure that I'd want to meet up with a troll..." I admitted. "It is a generally accepted tenet of Questing Theory that suicide missions are bad."

"Granted, but if we're cautious - and Snape's there..."

"We can always run away and let it attack Snape!" I grinned.

"At least we'd know how he got the limp," she considered.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-


Quidditch season had arrived. The professional teams began their exhibition games in early October, with regulation matches commencing mid-month. Quidditch was the talk of the common room.

"I always thought sport was a boys' topic," Janie commented one evening. "Look at those three," she nodded to the trio of third-year girls who were huddled with the Weasley twins and Oliver Wood.

Wood was the captain of the Gryffindor team and they seemed to be discussing plays, judging from the way their hands were swooping about everywhere.

"I think those three are on the team," I replied. "I've noticed them practicing when I was running my laps."

Running and physical exercise were part of the training regimen specified in the dueling book I'd assimilated.

"Really!? Interesting..." was all Janie said.

"Maybe you should come running with me..."

I hesitated to suggest this, but Janie hadn't offered. I figured she would make the suggestion herself after reading through the dueling book, but she hadn't.

"Really!? You'd like for me to join you?"

"Of course! You need to be in shape, too."

"I wasn't sure - I mean, I didn't want to intrude..."

Girls! She was waiting for an engraved invitation! Okay - I knelt on one knee before her...

"Hermione Granger, would you do me the great honor of joining me in my training exercises?" I said, bowing my head a little at the end.

"Prat!!" she laughed. "Yes."


I imagine that Janie wished she'd refused me. She practically staggered down the stairs to the common room the following morning at six o'clock.

"Don't you look just like death warmed over!" I remarked cheerfully.

"Let's just get this over with," she growled through narrowed slits that passed for her eyes.

Janie was not a morning person, apparently.

After some warm-up stretching we jogged one lap around the lake, then back into the castle and up the staircase to the seventh floor.

"That was brutal!" Janie panted when we were finally back in our common room. She was bent over, nursing a stitch in her side and trying to glare at me.

"I figure we'll do one lap around the lake for the rest of the week, then it's back to two," I broke the bad news to her. "We'll meet back here after showers and then go to breakfast," I nodded to the girls' stairs and headed for my own.

Maybe we should include Longbottom in our training, I thought as I stopped by my room for my towel and shower things. Nah... I shook my head at the snoring lump in the bed beside mine.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-


Halloween was finally upon us and we had no better plan than to 'follow Snape around' and 'avoid trolls.' We began our 'stake-out' just after breakfast, tailing the Potions professor from the Great Hall to the dungeons. We were almost late for Defense class as a result.

We did the same after lunch but our only reward was having to run all the way to History of Magic. I doubt Professor Binns would have noticed had we been tardy, but we weren't. It was a close thing, though.

The day was half over and Snape had done nothing out of the ordinary.

"We'll wait for him to leave his classroom," Janie decided as we filed out of History of Magic. "We'll hide in the dungeons."

Grudgingly, I followed her. Wasn't that where the troll was supposed to be?

We waited impatiently behind a statue in a small alcove that afforded a view of the Potions Lab door. Eventually, Snape emerged. He performed a complicated locking spell on the door and turned to go to the Great Hall, but then he stopped, as if listening for something.

The only thing he could have heard was the pounding of our hearts.

The evil man turned in our direction and listened some more. He took several hesitant steps toward us then paused again.

We eased ourselves farther back into the recess and waited.

"Potter! Granger!" Snape's ugly face peered around the corner. We were busted! "What might two Gryffindors be doing skulking around in this corridor, I wonder?"

"N-nothing, sir!" Janie answered guiltily.

"Yes - I can only imagine..." Snape looked us over, head to toe. "Five points each for suspicious behavior! Leave! Now!"

We didn't have to be told twice! We hurried off in the direction of the Great Hall.

"And five more points for running in the corridors!" Snape called after us.

"We weren't running!" Janie said indignantly once we were safely out of sight.

"At least we didn't get detention," I consoled her.

After our brush with death, we confined our Snape surveillance to the Great Hall, sitting at the Gryffindor table and watching for the greasy-haired git to appear. Rather than our normal places, we sat at the very front, next to the High Table.

While we were waiting, we witnessed Professor Flitwick casting the charms for the Halloween Feast decorations. He was amazing as he darted around the Great Hall, muttering and flicking his wand here and there. The results were impressive, we both agreed.


At last the students and professors began arriving for the feast. It was entertaining, watching as each person stopped to look up in wonder at Flitwick's enchantments.

"There's Snape!" Janie nudged me.

The Potions Master paused to take in the floating Jack-o-lanterns and swooping bats, then made his way along to take his customary seat at the High Table. I was relieved to see that he was not already limping. In fact, there was absolutely nothing unusual about him or his actions.

Snape showed some momentary interest when Dumbledore arrived, the Headmaster pausing to admire Flitwick's charms. Shape scowled slightly as Professor Sprout took the seat next to him, but he seemed otherwise bored with everything.

The food had just appeared on the platters when it happened. Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall shouting, "Troll! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you should know!"

The Defense professor then fainted - right in front of the High Table!

There were expressions of shock and surprise on the faces of the professors. There were shouts and screams from the student body. Only four people in the Great Hall remained calm - Dumbledore, Snape, Janie and me. Okay - five, if you count the unconscious Quirrell.

"Eyes on Snape!" Janie shouted to me over the pandemonium. I didn't need to be told.

She stood on the bench to see over the heads of the others who were spilling into the aisles. I climbed up on the bench beside her.

Dumbledore stood and fired off some firecrackers from his wand to get everyone's attention.

"QUIET, EVERYONE!" the Headmaster's voice roared.

Snape was not panicking but he didn't seem to be expecting this, either. His expression was calculating, but he was paying no attention to the Headmaster as Dumbledore called for everyone to return to their common rooms. Rather than round up his Slytherins and lead them to safety, Snape stood up and hurried off in the opposite direction.

We jumped down from our bench and pushed our way through the crowd to follow Snape. As we approached the grand staircase we caught sight of him running up the stairs to the third floor. Was he going to the library?

"The forbidden corridor!" Janie hissed at me as we cleared the second floor landing and started for the third.

We took the stairs two at a time, raced down the corridor, and skidded to a halt at the sound of someone casting, "Alohomora! "

It was Snape's voice!

We peered around the corner, down the forbidden corridor, in time to see his black robes slipping inside the door at the far end. As quietly as we could, we made our way to the door, which was standing slightly ajar.

The sight that greeted us was heart-stopping! There in the middle of the room was a giant three-headed dog! The thing was enormous! Lying down, its body was almost taller than us. All three heads appeared to be asleep.

Snape was creeping toward it, doing his utmost to not make a sound. His wand was pointing at one of the dog's huge paws which was resting on a trap door in the floor. It was the three sleeping heads, though, that held his complete, undivided attention as he moved silently and cautiously forward.

"Pungo! "

I was startled by the sound of Janie's voice casting the stinging hex over my shoulder. Her wand was pointing at the dog.

Snape's head whipped around in our direction, then back to the monster, which had awoken with a yelp. All three heads jerked up and the first thing they saw was Professor Snape, not three feet away.

"Push the door shut!" Janie yelled at me, putting her shoulder against the thick wooden door.

Together we shoved it closed and the latch fell into place.

We heard Snape's shout of, "Stupefy! Stupe... " and then the only sound coming from the other side of the door was vicious snarling. Very loud, vicious snarling!

My heart was racing as we backed away from the door, then our feet were racing - back toward Gryffindor Tower - as fast as they could carry us!

We caught up with the rest of our House as they were being led up the main staircase in an orderly fashion by Percy Weasley.

"Nothing to worry about!" he was calling over his shoulder. "The troll is in the dungeons - you're perfectly safe here with me!"

We brought up the rear as Percy held the Fat Lady's portrait open for the line of Gryffindors to file inside. Janie went through in front of me.

"What's the matter, Potter? You look rather pale!" Percy chided as I passed by him. "You're The Boy Who Lived, after all! It's only a troll - show some Gryffindor courage, will you?"

His jibe fell on uncaring ears as I hurried to catch up with Janie.

"Up to my room!" I nodded to the boys' stairs. "Everyone else is staying down here, it seems."

We ran all the way up to the first-years' dormitory at the top of the stairs and I led Janie over to the window at the far side of the room - from where we could keep an eye on the door. As opposed to my frantic state, Janie was practically euphoric.

"What were you thinking !?" I finally gasped.

"Downstairs on the third floor, do you mean?" she grinned.

"Yes!"

"I was thinking, 'Good-bye, Snape!'" she answered, her eyes alight.

"He's a professor!"

"Was a professor," she corrected gleefully. "He was on my enemies list!"

"Mine, too, but you can't just..." I stopped in mid-sentence. The look in Janie's eyes was disarming. "What?" I finished.

"Yes I can, apparently! What about Quirrell? He's a professor..."

"True..." I sighed, my breathing finally slowing.

"Don't tell anyone," she reminded me, a gleam in her eye.

"I guess this is becoming a habit, isn't it?"

"Maybe!" she grinned. "At least one more to go. Quirrell's all yours, though."

"There were no witnesses this time," I considered.

"Right! And I obeyed your Natural Order of Predator and Prey law," she beamed proudly. "If the giant squid counted for you, then the dog counts for me!"

I was flabbergasted. She was right!

"Are you feeling better now? All settled down?" Janie asked with concern. "You looked pretty scared, earlier. Afraid of getting caught, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "but you're right - there's no way for anyone to tie that back to us."

"Right! So let's go back downstairs and mingle. We need to be seen. Remember - the talk is all about the troll. No one knows about Snape, yet."

"Okay!" I took a calming breath and exhaled. "Nice hex, by the way. Where'd you learn it?"

"It was in your dueling book - in the training section. Maybe I can start throwing a few of those at you for dodging practice."

"Do they hurt?"

"Fido didn't seem to like it!" Janie smirked as she took my hand and led me to the door.

I hereby take back anything I may have said earlier about Hermione Granger not being any good in a fight. The girl is bloody brilliant!


-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-