Granger || Draco Malfoy Fanfic

Chapter 6

On Halloween morning we woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought we were ready to start making objects fly, something we had all been dying to try since we'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.

The classes went be pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was time for the Halloween feast.

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. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. 

I was conversing with Cho about how exams were round the corner when Professor Quirrell 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 ought to know." 

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. 

There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence. 

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately! Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

I was just about to exit the Great Hall when a horrible thought struck my mind. Where is Hermione?

I hadn't seen her all feast. There was a troll on the lose for God's sake! 

I sneaked out and started searching for Hermione. Where the hell is she?! I swear if the troll doesn't kill her, I will hunt her sorry ass down myself and murder her to small bits and pieces. I am not a Hufflepuff, I will kill her without a second thought if she went finding the troll or some weird shit like that. But firstly, if the troll lays a hand on her, I will be sure to murder him first.

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

And then I heard it – a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. At the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving towards me. I shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. 

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, 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 a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

And then I saw them –

"What on Earth are you guys doing here?" I whisper shouted to Harry and Ron.

"What does it look like? Trying to lock the troll in this room." Ron answered. 

Geez, way to be kind, Ron. 

After successfully locking it in the room, a horrible thought struck my brain. "Awesome, all I wanted after this fiasco was to go the bathroom. But guess who is locked in their: The Troll. I hate my life." I groaned.

Harry and Ron looked as if they had seen a ghost.

"Everything alright?" I asked worried.

"Umm....Actually....Hermione....", Harry muttered.

"Hermione? Hermione what?" I got really worried.

"Hermione may or may not have been in the girl's bathroom." Harry answered.

Shit.

I dashed open the door to see that Hermione 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.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and 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 towards Ron instead, giving Harry and me time to run around it. 

"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

This girl is seriously the biggest idiot I have ever met.

I grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room. I felt kind of guilty for leaving Ron and Harry to deal with a fully grown mountain troll all alone but you can't exactly blame me; my sister is my top priority.

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.

Me and Hermione entered the bathroom with them.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry and Ron looked at each other not knowing what to say.

"You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Snape gave us a swift, piercing look and we looked at the floor.

To my surprise, at that moment, Hermione decided to speak up. "Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me." 

"Miss Granger!" Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. 

"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." 

I was shocked. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? Never even my 11 years on this planet did I imagine to see this scene, except that one time when I would have got expelled from primary school if caught doing mischief and she took up the blame instead of me because her record was clear. 

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose, Ron knocked it out with its own club and Ariana shook me out of trance and helped me escape. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off whenthey arrived." Hermione lied. 

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

Hermione hung her head. I was speechless. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets. "Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses.

"Oh, and Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Both me and Hermione turned our heads around.

"Sorry, I should have been more specific. Miss Ariana Granger, five points will be awarded to Ravenclaw for your sheer dumb luck" Professor McGonagall said.

After that, I strolled off into my common room while Professor McGonagall was still talking with Harry and Ron.

Before I dozed off to sleep, I had only one thought on my mind that bought a smile to my face.

Hermione defended me.

A/N: Hey guys. If you are liking my book, it would be great if you can help publicize it. I really thank you all for your support and I hope you loved it so far.