Keep on keeping on

Harry ran through the halls, pushing his way through the hordes of students that were making their way down to dinner. Snape’s words were reverberating in his head.

Your parents were murdered…

Ten years ago today your parents were murdered…

Murdered…

Harry felt tears streaming down his cheeks and he gasped for breath. His lungs felt tight, like a band was wrapped tight around them and just squeezing and squeezing. Harry made it through the mass of black robes and kept running. He couldn’t stop all the thoughts and realisations from slamming into him.

I can hear her…

My mum… I can hear her… Screaming in horror and pain… Flash of green light… Dead…

The shaking boy found himself on a deserted corridor and he slammed open the nearest door. Harry realised he was now in the boys’ toilets, but he didn’t care. Instead, the child stumbled into a stall and pushed the door closed, the slam echoing around the room. Harry slid down the door and pulled his knees tight to his chest, tears falling silently down his face. Why was Harry never allowed happiness? Why couldn’t he just be left alone? Harry felt like he was drowning in pain. It wasn’t fair.

“I-IT’S NOT F-F-FAIR!” Harry screamed, pounding his fists on the stone floor in frustration. Harry fell into despair and allowed the sobs to wrack is small, frail body. The boy was snapped from his breakdown when a resounding crash boomed, frightening Harry and causing his heart to jump into his throat.  

Hermione had walked back to the Gryffindor common room alone, leaving Harry to talk to Professor Snape. She wasn’t worried as she knew that Snape was helping her friend and after Harry told her what happened with Ron this morning, Hermione hoped that Harry would tell Snape too. Hermione sat quietly in the common room until dinner, working on her transfiguration essay. When Harry didn’t return after an hour, Hermione began to worry though. Hermione hoped that it was just that Harry’s conversation with Professor Snape was taking longer than she anticipated so she left the common room for dinner, expecting to her find her friend already there.

When Hermione slid into a seat at the table, she looked around for the black haired boy. Her brow creased with worry when she still couldn’t find him. Hermione looked up to the teacher’s table and saw Snape sat there. The man had a stony look on his face, but his eyes were alight with concern. They to, were scanning the room and Hermione assumed that he was also searching for the boy. Hermione made eye contact with him and raised her eyebrows, trying to convey her question to him. Where was Harry? Snape shook his head in a miniscule movement, almost imperceptibly so. Hermione’s worry reached its peak and didn’t even notice when the food bloomed in front of her. Hermione didn’t eat a thing the entirety of dinner and instead, kept her eyes trained on the door, praying that Harry would walk through there any minute. By the time dessert started, Harry had still not materialised, and Hermione was now fidgeting nervously in her seat, incapable of sitting still. Halfway through dessert, Hermione’s worry switched to terror when the small, trembling defence professor burst into the hall, swaying on his feet.

“Troll! Troll in the dungeon! Thought you ought to know.” The man promptly fainted and from there, pandemonium ensued.

Harry heard the crash, and he cowered against the stall door. He heard the bathroom door fall from its hinges and hit the stone floor as it fell. Harry wasn’t sure what was happening. He heard the smash of porcelain and the splintering of wood as something swung at the stall beside him. Harry felt large shards of woods fall on him as the stalls fell down around him. Harry dropped to the floor, pushing his face against the cold stone. Tears still peppered his eyes, but these were tears of terror, not fear. Harry inched his head up, trying to see what was causing all this destruction. He balked when he saw what was standing before him. A large monster, as tall as an aged oak tree towered over the boy. It’s green, blistering skin was patchy and mottled with large, pus filled boils scattered all over it. The only clothing it wore was a grimy, brown loincloth that was wrapped around its waist. In the beast’s hand was a long, thick wooden club, as tall as Harry and five times as wide. Harry could see small, spikey branches sticking out of the club. It looked as though the monster had ripped a small tree from the ground and was now carrying it around as a weapon. Harry watched on in horror as the thing raised its club and swung again. Harry raised his hands over his head and let out a blood curdling scream, bracing for the impact that he expected to come.

Hermione ran from the great hall, pushing students out of the way. She had to find Harry. She didn’t know where he was. She knew he wasn’t in the common room so that meant that he was somewhere in the castle. Hermione ran through the halls, ignoring the shouts of protest from prefects, demanding that she returns to her common room. Hermione slammed open every door she came across, hoping to find Harry inside one of them. After 10 minutes of frantic sprinting, Hermione was gasping for breath. She stopped in the middle of a deserted corridor to catch her breath when she heard a scream coming from the boy’s toilets. Hermione ran towards the scream, her heart beating in her chest and the sound of blood rushing in her ears.

“Harry!” She shouted, pushing her way into the toilets. Hermione stopped when she saw what was inside. Her words caught in her throat and her eyes were fixed on the troll that was looming dangerously over Harry who was cowering in the corner under a sink.

“Harry. You must get out of here!” Harry saw Hermione enter and relief flooded his body.

“H-Hermione. I-I can’t. H-Help me!” The boy’s face was red and swollen from crying. Hermione realised that Harry was stuck and didn’t know what to do. The girl took a breath and picked up a chunk of sink from the ground. She threw it up at the troll with all her might. The projectile landed with a thunk on the trolls back and the monster turned round, unsteady on his feet. His huge yellow eyes landed on the small girl, and it swung its club. On instinct, Hermione side stepped the weapon and ducked, hearing the swoosh of the club as it sliced the air above Hermione’s head.

“Harry. Get the troll’s club!” Hermione screamed, continuing to duck as the club swung at her again.

“How!” Harry replied. Hermione did not reply as she was too focused on avoiding the weapon. Harry watched her and panicked. All his lessons flashed through his mind as he grasped for spell that would help. Suddenly, a charms lesson sprung to mind and Harry raised his wand, breathing deeply and focusing all his energy on the spell.

“W-Wingardium L-L-Leviosa” Nothing happened. Harry growled in frustration, angry that his stutter was once again holding him back. Harry took another deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing a feeling of calmness to try and fill him before trying again.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Harry called out slowly. He waved his wand and watched in shock as the club was pulled from the troll’s hand. The troll continued to swing, not realising that his weapon was gone. Harry continued to watch as the club continued to float higher and higher until it was suspended above the troll’s head. Harry swished his wand, and the club fell at speed, colliding with the monster’s head. A loud, bone crushing smack could be heard and then the troll crumpled to the floor. It twitched a few times before lying still.

“H-Hermione!” Harry called, running over to his friend and engulfing her in a tight embrace. Hermione buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed.

“Harry. You did it!” The pair clung to each other and let out cries of relief, both shaking in the other’s arms.

Snape watched Miss Granger run frantically from the hall. She was obviously going to look for Harry, so Snape took off at a run and followed her. She had a head start so by the time Severus reached the end of the hall, he’d lost her to the swarm of students. Snape pushed through the students and made it to an empty corridor.

“Point me, Miss Granger.” Snape demanded, placing his wand in the palm of his hand. He ran down the corridor, robes billowing behind like black smoke, and arrived at the bathroom that his wand had navigated him to. Snape listened carefully but heard no sound coming from the room. So, Snape entered and was shocked at what he saw.

Stood together in a tight embrace in the centre of the room was Harry and Miss Granger. The pair were sobbing quietly but Snape’s eyes were drawn to the large figure lying flat on the floor.

“What in Merlin’s name happened here!” Snape said, shocked. His voice startled the two students who sprang apart. Hermione looked down at her feet, her face flushing in shame. Harry did the same, refusing to look at the man that was helping him.

“Well?” Snape demanded, expectantly. He raised his hands and stared at the two students. Harry shifted on his feet, still staring at the ground.

“F-Fought a t-t-troll, didn’t w-we Sir.” Harry murmured; a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Snape scoffed but was impressed at Harry’s brazenness.

“Well, clearly! Why would you think that that was okay!”

“I-I was in the b-bathroom after w-what you told me S-Sir and it c-came in. H-Hermione found m-me and it started a-attacking her so I-I wanted to save her.” Harry explained, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet.

“And did Miss Granger not think to get a teacher when she found you? After all, we are fully trained, adult wizards and you – well you are no more than little first years.” Snape snarled. Hermione shook her head mutely. Snape was about to ask Harry why he was not at dinner, despite knowing the answer, when he was interrupted by a small cough coming from behind me.

“My, my! Whatever do we have here?”

Snape spun on his heel and was faced with the elderly headmaster. Albus stood in the doorway to the bathroom, his hands clasped in front of him and a small sparkle in his eye. Severus groaned internally – this was the last thing he needed.

“Ah, Headmaster. I found Mr Potter and Miss Granger after they took it upon themselves to seek out and fight this troll! I was just about to deduct 15 points. From each of them.” Snape drawled cruelly, his eyes flashing towards the pair. Harry’s lip curled towards the professor, anger boiling inside.

“Oh, Professor Snape. That is a bit harsh, I think. There are not many people that can take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale! I, for one, do not recall seeing Mr Potter at dinner this evening either, so I hardly think we can say that he sought out the troll can we, my boy.” Albus said diplomatically, smiling at Harry. Snape was fuming at the man. How could he stand there, smiling sweetly, after he had been trying so hard to destroy Harry’s life. But, after thinking for a beat, Snape realised why. Albus wanted Harry eating out of his hand. He wanted Harry to be beaten down until he had him responding to his every whim. Snape scoffed in derision.

“I believe we should be rewarding this fine act of bravery rather than punishing. 20 points to each of them. Now run along you two.” Albus suggested, he smiled again at Harry, ignoring the glare the Severus was aiming his way. Harry and Hermione walked silently out of the bathroom, leaving the two adults behind.

“Snape did not look impressed, did he?” Hermione laughed, nervously. She was trying to break the tense silence that had fallen over the pair as they made their way back to the common room. Harry nodded. Hermione eyed her friend with curiosity.

“Harry, why were you in the bathroom? I didn’t see you come back after potions and then you weren’t at dinner. Did you tell Professor Snape about Ron?” Harry nodded again, still not talking though.

“Harry. What’s wrong. What did he say?” Hermione asked again. She stopped in her tracks and grabbed Harry’s arm, stopping him too. Harry sighed and fidgeted with his hands.

“I-I’m not in t-trouble for answering back to Ron. B-But Snape told m-me that m-my parents died.” Harry answered solemnly. Hermione looked confused.

“Well… It’s just… Didn’t you already know that?”

“Y-Yes, I d-did. But I didn’t k-know that it h-happened 10 y-years ago today.” Harry replied. He answered sadly and then walked off. Hermione stood alone in the corridor and if anyone else had been around, they would have been able to hear her heart breaking.