11

Today was Samhain, my favourite day of the year. Harry was talking to Ron, and I listened to the newest gossip the girls were telling me.

Lavender Brown had an interesting tidbit, one that included a certain bird in lion's clothing. "Poor Granger! Ron upset her. She's been crying in the first-floor bathroom all afternoon!" Lavender informed me.

Immediately, my attention turned to Ron. I cleared my plate and threw it at him.

His cry of pain attracted some attention, but once they saw that I was glaring at him, they all diverted their attention. They were learning.

Ron however, was not as smart.

"Bloody hell, what was that for Malfoy?" He whined.

I gave him an unamused look.

How dense was this boy?

"Tell me what exactly you said to Granger to make her cry," I ordered, making him gulp.

"J-Just that she was a know-it-all and that it was no wonder she didn't have any friends!" He explained, fearing what I'd do if he didn't answer.

However, my reaction was worse.

I grabbed his ear and started shouting,

"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO THAT POOR GIRL?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU DID? I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT! EVEN US MALFOYS TREAT LADIES WITH RESPECT!"

By the end of it, everyone was looking at us, not that I noticed of course. I had what my mother called 'Black Blood Mother tendencies'. For once, I could see why. Not for my over-protectiveness, but my screech. It was a great lot like Great Aunt Walburga, I'll admit, which was probably why Mother tried to divert my attention after the first time. I idly wondered if there was going to be anything special for tonight. Then, I remembered I was still holding on to Ron and let go. "Be grateful I'm not grounding you," I snapped.

Ron had the audacity to look at me in disbelief. "You can't ground me!" He protested.

I glared hard enough to make him flinch. "Watch me."

That seemed to be enough to make him back off, at least for now.

I turned my attention to Harry.

"Did you do anything to her?" I asked in a warning tone.

He fearfully shook his head in denial.

I nodded once then brightened up. "I heard that Salem is wonderful this time of year! Mother said that once I'm 17, I can participate in the Calling of the Dead rituals," I ranted, changing the topic.

Both boys, clearly not expecting the change in topic, looked at me oddly. They never got the chance to ask for clarification, however, as Quirrellmort came running in at that very moment.

"Troll!" He screamed as he ran to the middle of the Great Hall. "In the dungeons!"

Everyone looked at him in shock, clearly not expecting that turn in events.

"Thought you ought to know." With that, Quirrellmort fell to the ground face-first, clearly having fainted.

It was at that moment that panic ensued throughout the hall. Mostly throughout the Slytherins of course.

Feeling generous, today I made myself heard over the chaos. "EVERYONE QUIET DOWN!" I shouted, everyone's attention turned to me. I stood up and climbed on the table before continuing. "This is what's going to happen, everyone will stay here except a few teachers, I want one prefect going to get Madam Pomfrey for Professor Quirrell. Am I understood?" I directed.

Everyone nodded as I jumped off the table to join my peers.

I went over to the Ravenclaw table to get one of the prefects. However, before I could reach her, Milo stopped me.

"Fenrir, I don't have much time, but Quirrell is not who he seems," he whispered.

Somehow, I could hear his voice above the noise. I rolled my eyes at him. "I know that Q- Milo. Word of advice though, you aren't very subtle." I waved him off off, going to fetch the prefect.

—

I looked at Harry, then Ron, and finally, Granger.

"You… fought a troll? In the girls bathroom?" I asked once more, unable to believe it.

Ron nodded, not expecting what would happen next.

"Oh, Merlin, I need to tell Mother about this," I said, thinking about how those three were bound to give me a heart attack by the time I was thirteen. "Harry, Ron, let me tell you something. Never go into a woman's bathroom. Troll or not. If Granger was older, she would've absolutely destroyed the troll then hexed the snot out of you."

Both Ron and Harry glanced at each other as Granger flushed deeply.

Finally, Ron nodded, having clearly experienced some fearsome woman in the past, probably his mother.

Harry just looked a bit embarrassed, which he should be.

I sighed at the two boys before looking at Granger. "Are you truly alright?"

The girl nodded quickly. "Yes, I am."

"That's good," I nodded.

It was always good to double check these things.

I looked at them before giving in to what I knew needed to be said. "Snape is not trying to get past Fluffy, you know."

The three looked at me in surprise before Harry asked, "How do you know?"

I sighed at him. "Harry, he's my brother's godfather. I'd think I'd know if he were up to something."

Instead of listening to my full response, Ron's mind caught on one thing. "Your brother's godfather is Snape?" He looked positively horrified at that.

I rolled my eyes. "He's not bad-"

"But he's not good," Ron tried to debate.

"I'm sure you know the word for that, Ron. It's called neutral," I stated, "He's in an area of gray, but I at least know he isn't working for Voldy."

"Did - did you just call He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named Voldy?" Ron asked, looking horrified.

"Oh, he's not that scary," I waved off dismissively.

Ron just stared at me, too shocked to pick his jaw off the ground.

I sighed at him. "You're going to catch a fly or something."

He remained still in shock for a few minutes before fainting.

I groaned loudly. "Can someone get him onto a couch?" I didn't ask because I was worried about him, but rather I knew I was going to trip over him and land flat on my face if I didn't ask someone to move him.

Actually, there was a chance to still trip over him…

I cautiously walked around Ron before nodding once to myself. 'There, now I won't fall over him.' I, of course, did not take into account the toad (Trevor of course) on the floor. I looked down, noticing the toad at the last second, and tripped myself to ensure I wouldn't step on the poor creature. I groaned as my face met the carpet below, both cursing the toad in my mind while also thankful that I didn't humiliate myself in front of the entire school, but rather just my housemates.

They'll probably forget about it once Harry does something stupid again.