Halloween
By the next morning, their encounter with a giant three-headed dog was now seen as an excellent adventure by Willow and Luz and they were quite keen to have another one. Luz told Willow about the package Hagrid brought from Gringotts to Hogwarts and they pondered what the dog could be guarding. The subject seemed to be of interest to neither Augustus, who ignored the girls most of the time nor Star, who just wanted to erase the memory from her head.
A week later a crow delivered a note to Willow, summoning her to Quidditch practice in the night “Can I tag along?” Luz asked and Willow nodded, hoping that her friend could learn a bit about the game “Hey! Boscha!” Willow yelled at the Slytherin table, the girl turned her gaze from a newspaper “Thank you! I couldn’t have done without you!” She said and left the hall giggling with Luz. Boscha stood confused looking at the place the girls were even after minutes.
They passed Augustus who looked at them with a disapproving stare “Humph” He muttered and continued his path. As 7 O’clock drew closer, the two girls went to the Quidditch pitch. Obviously, it was Luz’s first time in one; Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the pitch so the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the pitch were golden poles with hoops on the end.
Too eager to fly again, Willow started flying around the pitch, Luz watched as the girl made circles and loops in the air. “Hey Park, come down” Oliver had arrived, Willow landed near him, his eyes glinting “I see, you do live up to the expectation. But I have to ask, why you’re here Miss Noceda?” He asked.
“I never heard of Quidditch before, I was wondering if could watch her practice the basics” Luz replied. Oliver seemed to ponder “Okay, I was going to just remember all rules and positions today anyway, but if someone asks, you were hiding and I didn't see you” He said and Luz nodded.
He opened a crate he brought with him “Team practice will be three times a week” He revealed that inside the crate there were a few balls of different sizes “Now, each team is composed of 7 players; 3 are called chasers” – “3 chasers” Luz repeated as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a football “This ball is called the Quaffle, it’s the chasers job to mark goals with it, 10 points for each. Follow me”.
“So it’s like basketball, but flying and with 6 hoops” Luz concluded “What’s basketball?” He asked “Nothing” Luz responded quickly “Now, there’s one keeper per team, their job is to prevent the chasers from scoring points, I’m our team’s keeper”.
Luz made mental notes about it while Willow watched, she knew that already but she wasn’t going to ruin it for Luz “Now, these two are the Bludgers” He showed Luz two identical jet black balls smaller than the red one, which looked like they were straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box “Step back, Park, take this” She handle Willow a bat.
When Wood released the black ball, it rose in the air and flew straight aiming for Willow’s face; she then swung at it with the bat before it hit her. Wood caught the ball and put it back inside the box “It’s the Blight twins’ job to protect their team from them and send it towards the opposite team”.
Lu nodded “Now, here is where you enter Park, the last member of the team, the seeker. The only ball you should be concerned about is this one” Wood presented Willow with a tiny golden ball, about the size of a large walnut “The Golden Snitch, your job is to find and catch it, the game won’t end until it’s caught, you do that, the match ends and we gain 150 points, almost certain victory”. Willow nodded excitedly. Luz now understood the game she heard people talking about since she got to Hogwarts. Willow practiced catching balls thrown by Wood and Luz, she didn’t miss a single one “Our name is already in the Quidditch Cup” Oliver said after the practice.
Two full months had already passed since Luz went to Hogwarts, and she felt as if there was her second home, away from Andrea and her bullying, though it was replaced by Boscha’s. Even the lessons became more interesting when she has mastered the basics.
Halloween arrived with the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors and with the news that Professor Eda was going to teach the students how to make things fly. Luz ended up pairing with Star and Willow with Augustus. He hadn’t spoken to them since the other day, though Luz felt as if he was gathering the courage to do so.
“Now remember, the wrist movement and the correct pronunciation is essential for any spell to work” Said Eda sitting in a high chair where she could watch all students at once “Swish and flick; swish and flick then say: Wingardium Leviosa! ”.
The students repeated the processes over and over again; neither Luz nor Star managed to make the feather they had on the table fly. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Willow said “You’re saying it wrong” Augustus said to her “Is LeviOUsa and not LeviosA”.
“Really? Could you do it so I can see it?” Willow asked ironically. Augustus grabbed his Palisman, flicked it, and said “Wingardium Leviosa” Their feather rose up and hovered a meter above them “Well done! The first one to do it correctly, 7 points to Gryffindor” Eda said.
“Wingardium Leviosa” Star repeated several times trying to make it fly “Wingardim Leviosa!” She yelled one more time, only to make the feather blow to ashes “Professor… I think we’ll need a new one” Luz said, her face covered in ashes “Ha! Nice explosion, 3 points to Gryffindor” It was nearly impossible to lose points in Eda’s class.
“It is LeviOUsa and not LeviosA” Willow repeated as she and Luz walked back “What? He thinks he’ll ever make friends behaving like that? He’s a pain in the neck, a full-on nightmare”. Luz happened to look behind her back, there she found Augustus with his arm stretched, was he going to try and talk to them? “If you’ll excuse me” He said coldly and rushed past them.
“I think he heard you” Luz said and Willow looked down, she looked a bit uncomfortable. Augustus was nowhere to be found the rest of the day. On their way to the Halloween feast, they overheard two students saying that he spent the whole day locked in the boy’s bathroom, which made them even more uncomfortable, but the decoration of the Halloween feast washed away the boy from their minds.
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. Luz was halfway done with a slice of pumpkin pie when Professor Piniet came rushing from outside, his long green hair moving like a flag in a storm.
He reached Principal’s Bump table and huffing he said “Tr-Tr-Troll in the dungeons… Thought… You… ought… To… Kno-” Before he could finish it, uproar filled the room and he fainted in front of Bump who stood up and yelled “Silence!” when everyone obeyed he said “Prefects, lead the students back to their common rooms, except Slytherin, they will stay in the hall until the problems are dealt with” He ordered rather calmly.
The prefects gathered the students and headed to their dormitories. Everyone wondered how a Troll, a species known for its lack of intelligence, could sneak into the castle? Some assumed it was Peeves playing a prank on the students.
They were halfway through the path back to their common room when Luz grabbed Willow’s arm “Augustus” She said “What about him?” Willow asked “He doesn’t know about the Troll” Willow blinked twice “Oh, fine, come one”. They separated from the group and headed toward the boy's bathroom.
For a brief moment, Luz saw Lilith walking the corridors with quick footsteps, what she was doing there? She was supposed to be in the dungeons with the other teachers “Luz, hide” Willow whispered, they hide behind a statue of a Griffin as it passed by them.
It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was 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. It smelled like a mixture of socks and that kind of public bathroom no one seemed to clean.
The troll passed them, turned around the corridor and they heard the noise of a door being open and closed “Please, tell me that there is not the…” A scream followed the Troll as it entered the boy’s bathroom “Augustus!” The two said together.
They rushed into the toilets to find the Troll swinging its club smashing the ground as Augustus crawled away from the monster. The boy rolled beneath the sinks but not even that stopped the troll who barely missed the boy’s leg with the club that could easily pulverize it.
The girls picked up anything they could and threw it at the creature, who didn’t even notice their attempts “This is going nowhere” Luz said. The creature had corned Augustus against the opposite wall from the girls.
Luz took a deep breath and sprinted towards the troll, she then high jumped on its neck and wrap her left arm around its eyes. The troll shook its head and spin around trying to get Luz out of its neck. As if the decision to jump in its neck wasn’t stupid enough, Luz stick the end of her staff on one of the creature's nostrils “Run!” She yelled.
Augustus crawled between the creature's legs “Luz, jump down!” Willow said when the boy was at a safer distance but to their despair, the troll grabbed Luz by her leg and hanged her really to smash her face with the club.
“Do something!” Augustus yelled in panic “What?” Willow asked desperate “Anything!” Luz replied. Willow reached for Clover, who turned into staff form, not knowing what to do, she found herself crying the first spell that came to her mind “Wingardium Leviosa!” hoping for a miracle.
The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly 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.
“Is… dead?” The boy asked “No, it’s still breathing, just knocked out” Luz pulled out her staff, covered with what appeared to be lumpy grey glue, from the creature's nose “Urg…” she said as she wiped it on the troll's trousers.
“What’s happening here?” Lilith's voice almost made the three of them jump, they looked up to find her, Edalyn, and Piniet rushing into the bathroom. One look at the troll made Piniet’s legs give up, he set quickly down on the toilet.
Eda bent over the troll and quickly turned to the kids, she was uncommonly serious “You could have been killed” she said. “They were looking for me” Augustus said to the surprise of both Clawthorns “I went looking for the troll; I thought I could handle it since I’ve read all about” Willow and Luz were shocked, Augustus Porter telling a downright lie to a teacher? Unimaginable.
“If they hadn’t found me I’d be dead by now… Luz stuck her staff up its nose and Willow knocked it with its own club… It happened too fast, it was moments from finishing me off when they arrived” Luz and Willow tried to look as if that story wasn’t new to them.
“Well, in that case…” Lilith started “Mister Porter, for your foolishness which put not only you but your classmates in peril, 35 points will be taken from Gryffindor” As she said, Augustus hang his head, as a light shock came from his wrist.
“Now about you” Eda said looking up to Luz and Willow “Not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll as you did, I bet luck helped a lot” They nodded but to their surprise, Eda grinned at them “You two behaved as true Gryffindor should, putting your lives at risk for others, a true sign of bravery. 20 points will be given to Gryffindor for your acts tonight; Principal Bump will be informed of this, you may go, the food has been sent to your common room” The three left the destroyed bathroom.
“We should have gained more than 40 points for that” Two floors up was when Willow broke the silence “Only 5 really since you have to take the 35 I lost” Augustus said in a whisper “Sorry for everything” Willow said.
“You saved my life, you have nothing to be sorry for, and I should be the one apologizing” He said “If I hadn’t insulted you none of this would have happened” Willow replied embarrassed. They stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady “Oh, thank heavens you three are safe, you two were very brave saving your friend like that” She said to them “How do you know?” Luz asked “The portrait above the bathroom door, heard everything” They entered their common “Thanks, Luz, Willow” Augustus said before sitting down to eat something for the first time since lunch.
There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them. From that night on, Augustus Porter, or simply Gus, became their friend.