Trolls And Regret

Alright everyone this chapter kind of got away from me, I usually try and keep it between 2k and 3k but felt wrong to stop in the middle of the events, so if you are interested in longer chapters but a less frequent update like maybe 4 3k+ big chapters a week instead of 6 2k-3k let me know.

Also here is the discord server if you want to discuss the novel The link is in the comment.

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Trolls And Regret

As Liam was following the prefect back to the common room his brain was going as fast as it could trying to process the information and figure out what was going on.

'What the hell is going on, Why did they have a fight, And if they did, Why did Parvati not see her crying in the girl bathroom, Is she somewhere else and if so how will the rest of the trio find her, Would they even look for her... '

Liam took a deep breath and held it.

'Is she even in danger if she isn't at the bathroom, The troll should have the same path through the castle, Damn it, It was supposed to be stopped by the teachers while the students were in their rooms but I can't just leave it to chance'

Just as he finished that thought he saw Harry and Ron go with the rest of the Gryffindor students towards the common room instead of splitting off, His heart sank deeper.

'Shit, Did I just get Hermione killed, No right? she isn't at the bathroom Parvati said as much, FUCK you try to avoid one troll and everything goes to shit, Now what I can't just go to my room and stick my head in the sand, Not after I caused this mess, But I can't exactly fight a troll now can I, Arghhhhh, Why is everything so complicated, I can't fix anything if just this small a step can lead everything to disarray like this, Huff, This is not the time for this, Focus, Focus '

And he split from the rest of the students right before they took the staircase and he slipped back towards the second-floor hallway.

'Alright too late to back out now, It's game time Liam, Let's do this '

'Ok first of all I can't let my guard down, There is a troll somewhere on this floor, It shouldn't be at the bathroom yet, My goal is to make sure Hermione is ok, So no troll combat unless necessary, Ok I am almost there, What was that '

Just then Liam heard a very loud sound akin to something heavy falling from a skyscraper or so he thought followed by an earthquake that was then followed by a roar, And he almost did a full 180 before he regained control of his body and the ringing in his ear went down.

Liam reached the corner just beyond the bathroom door and he stopped there trying to keep himself calm, Then he peeked while leaning behind the bend in the corridor holding his breath and there he saw the troll going into the bathroom after smashing the door open.

The troll was not as goofy looking as in the movies and much more terrifying than the book description, It stood at 15 feet tall, Otherwise known as A Hagrid with with a normal person stacked on top of him and his wideness wasn't that small by comparison either, He only saw a glimpse of its face but what he saw haunted him, It was the ugliest face he had could ever imaging and that was without the grimace that decorated it, Not to mention the jagged wooden club it was carrying that was even bigger than Liam.

'He debated what to do for a few seconds not knowing for sure if Hermione was in there but his legs made the decision for him, As he found himself walking forward in a weird state of calm as he raised his wand'

He went in and saw the troll just standing there looking at something outside Liam's viewpoint, Liam decided to push his advantage by acting first so he flicked and swished his hand, And just like the canon, He cast while pointing at the club

"Wingardium Leviosa"

But it seemed he picked the wrong moment as the troll's grip was strong and he didn't just let it go, So now the troll was pulling at his club with both hands while looking confused at the sudden betrayal of his usually loyal instrument while Liam was doing his best to pry it upwards out of the hands of the trolls and out of his reach, But they were evenly matched so Liam decided to try something else as he changed the direction of his force to match the troll's pull.

The club went flying with accumulating acceleration hitting the Troll in the chest and then falling on the ground as the troll groaned in pain while finally noticing Liam at the doorway.

Liam stepped back in fear for a second but then decided now was not the time for second thoughts and cast again at the now free club

"Wingardium Leviosa"

It floated up in the air above the troll who was looking at it with a shocked face, A shocked face that soon turned battered as the club started hitting it repeatedly

"Why won't you go down you big oaf "

Liam shouted at the troll that was flailing its arms around trying to catch the club, Finally, After taking a good hit he stumbled forwards and fell on his knees before then slamming face down on the floor.

Liam was beyond relieved but was still on guard as he walked in still controlling the giant club above the troll while shouting

"Hermione, Are you in here?"

"Hello !!, Hermione you can come out now the troll is... sleeping, Hello!"

"Please don't be hurt"

he said as he opened the stalls one by one to find them all empty.

"..."

Liam dropped the club on the ground while sliding on the wall next to him but still keeping an eye on the troll.

"Shit, she isn't here after all, And I nearly got myself killed for nothing, She is probably in the library or the common room safe and sound and I came here and fought with a troll for no reason, Huuffffff, I need to stop jumping to conclusions all the time, I let my fear get the better of me "

And then he rushed standing up while reminding himself

"I should get out of here before the teachers come and I have to explain what I am doing here"

He walked ran to the now broken doorway making his way back to the staircase but just as he exited the room he saw a running frame bending the corner ahead of him and he froze for a second thinking of what it meant.

'Did someone see me, Shit who was it?'

And just as he thought of that question he started running to find out its answer, And as he was running with all his strength from the hallway to hallway, His quarry narrowly evaded his sight if not his hearing, As he could hear the sound of the rushing footsteps ahead of him, Somehow more frantic then him, And just as their sound stopped and Liam rounded the corner he saw a staircase raising above him but unfortunately from his line of sight below the staircase he couldn't see who was on it.

The staircase climbed and climbed until it reached the fourth floor and stopped there for a small period of time and then started moving again towards a banister on the third floor, Turning around in the process and reviling its now empty steps.

At this point, Another staircase took its place in front of Liam who climbed on it immediately thinking with all his power hoping the castle was listening

'I want to go to the fourth floor, Please take me to the fourth floor'

But alas the staircase skipped both the third and fourth floor and went to the fifth.

Liam was angry but then he remembered something, He then looked down at another fourth-floor banister and with a running start he jumped off the staircase with as much momentum as he could muster and as he stopped going forward and started going downward he got ready and when he was as close as he could get to the ledge he shouted

"Arresto Momentum"

He stopped in mid-air, barely hovering above the edge before he resumed his movement and landed while pushing his body forward as soon as he touched the ground, afraid he might fall to the other side.

He paused for a second then started running along the fourth-floor corridor looking for any sign of movement and trying to find the spy that had seen him not even knowing what he would do if he reached them.

And right as had reached a turn into a new corridor he heard

"WHO GOES THERE !?"

And it didn't take much deduction for Liam to figure out it was Filch, As he stopped dead in his tracks just shy of being seen by Filch, He quickly turned around and started walking back to the staircase cursing his impulsivity, That made him forget his original goal of not being seen and acted so rashly.

'Why is Filch even alone right now, He is a squib and there is a damn troll on the loose'

Liam reached the staircases again and took the first one going up making his way back to the dorms trying to figure out where was Hermione, And who it was that saw him, and then ran away, And what did they want.

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At first, She thought he was a like-minded person who also understood the value of knowledge and she wanted to impress him in the hope of making a new friend, A friend huh... she didn't have many of those back at school, In fact, She didn't have any, That was why she was so excited when she found out about Hogwarts.

She saw it both as a fresh start and at the same time, She couldn't wait to read all about magic and its many wonders, Wonders that she will definitely perform in the future because she was now a witch.

But back to the main point at first her interest in him was as an equal and a possible friend, And It didn't seem like much of a long shot at the start they studied together a couple of times when they ran into each other in the library and he was friendly enough, Even if he never was the one that initiated contact, So she thought he was probably just a bit shy.

But as time passed she saw him less and less outside of class and meanwhile she was surprised to find out that she had made other friends somehow without even trying those two boys just started hanging around her all of the time, They were not as rule-abiding as she would have liked but they were nice to her so she decided not to be picky.

About then she almost didn't speak to the first boy at all she didn't find any chances for it, She would rarely see him out of class if at all, So in her head, It was now more of a competition and less of a friendship, Every class she would unbeknownst to him be in a race to see who could apply the spell or potion first.

That was why as soon as she got her broom to rise to her hand she looked at him, Only to find that he had already succeeded and was now staring at Neville, And almost a second later Neville started floating on his broom, Then when she looked back surprised at the boy who was watching Neville flying with no hint of worry, And as she looked back at Neville who started flying around the place, Suddenly there was a fire the split the class into two and when she looked back at where the boy was he was no longer there, She started looking around trying to find him only to see him in the opposite side of where he was standing in relation to the class.

He was holding his wand in his hand, And following his line of sight she was looking at a now on the ground Neville who was writhing in pain, And when she looked back at the boy she noticed he was no longer holding his wand and quickly averted her eyes when he started looking around.

And with that, Her competitiveness with him and her admiration turned into suspicion, He had something to do with what happened in Mrs hooch's class she just wasn't sure what he did, Or why he did it, But she was sure of it he was hiding something, Couple that with the fact that nobody knows where he is most of the time and the fact that he appears to be very social but somehow he doesn't have any close friends.

And now she was watching him like a hawk during classes trying to find out his secret, But he was acting as he always acted and she couldn't find any chink in the armor, So she decided to her friends, But those ungrateful idiots called her names and sided with him instead of her, So she knew she only had one option left, To prove he had nefarious intentions and she was the only one to see through his charming act, And the only way to prove that was to follow him and find his secret.

She knew exactly when to start following him, He only appeared in classes and when it was time for meals in the great hall, So she decided to skip lunch and wait outside the great hall hidden and waiting for him to exit, And so he did and the chase began.

Quite a boring chase she thought he just exited the castle and started walking alongside the lake picking up a stone every now and then, And due to the very pen space she had to watch from quite a distance, She kept this up for a what felt like ages, Until he finally returned to the castle and went back to the common rooms for a quick stop and then came back out.

She almost got so flustered when he came back out afraid to get caught, Then when he passed beside her without saying anything she remembered it was her common room too, And that she was expected to be here all she wanted, So she took a breath and resumed the chase he walked around the seventh floor for a bit then he stopped shook his head and turned around suddenly and started making his way to the staircase.

That time she almost had a heart attack before fortunately, She found a hallway to duck into while he passed by where she was standing, He then spent a couple of hours in the library reading some book and when he left she was conflicted about trying to see what the book was about or keep following him, But she decided to do the latter to her regret as he ended up going to the great hall again.

She waited outside for a bit, She was now really hungry so she resolved to go eat and also keep an eye on him and when he walked out she would follow him.

And just as she was about to carry on that action she noticed Professor Quirrell standing outside the doors of the great hall, It looked like he was gathering himself so he could perform a song or something, And then his face took on a look of horror as he opened the doors and rushed inside shouting something about a troll and then, Screams resounded from inside the great hall accompanied by a loud hustle and bustle.

Now Hermione was more confused than ever, She had no idea of the meaning of what just happened but she knew something about it was off and just as she was about to start moving again people started pouring out of the great hall, She saw the boy at the rear end of a group of Gryffindor students led by their prefect Percy Weasley, So she stayed silent and held still until the coast was clear and started following them.

He was acting very nervous and twitchy, The opposite of his demeanor during the flaying class and he was looking around the other students as if he was looking for something and then when they got to the staircases they all climbed to the second floor while she found another staircase that led her to the third floor, So she kept her watch from above and noticed that when the rest of the students got to the second floor they waited for a minute before another one started taking them higher but he stayed back for some reason, He just stepped back and was staring into the corridor without moving.

Another staircase arrived near her and it seemed to be going to where he was standing and she couldn't decide if she should get on it or not, But he made that decision for her when he started moving, She quickly hopped on the staircase and hoped he wouldn't turn around suddenly and notice her when she didn't have anywhere to hide.

But luckily for her, He didn't turn and she continued following him until they reached the bathroom and that was when she saw the troll, She stopped, Time had froze mid footstep and almost let out a scared yelp, But she held it in virtue to the fact that she couldn't breathe.

She calmed down a bit when the troll went into the bathroom but her emotions went on another rollercoaster ride when the boy followed the troll in.

She couldn't think straight.

'Should I go in there and confront him about why he was following a troll, But how would I explain that I was following him and that aside, THERE IS A TROLL IN THERE, I would probably end up dead if I followed him, But what about him, He wouldn't get hurt would he, Why am I worried for him now, He is evil, Stupid boy, Stupid troll what do I do.

She started inching her way to the door and at the same time, She started hearing loud thuds coming from inside the room followed by a shout.

"Why won't you go down you big oaf "

She started moving even slower until she reached the door frame and then leaned in peeking to see what was happening.

What she saw drove her to be even more surprised somehow, The boy was victorious standing there just fine holding his wand and pointing it at a huge floating wooden club while the troll was on the ground with blood covering its face.

And just as the girl had stopped reeling from all the shocks and was trying to figure out if she should jump in there and confront him about his shady actions and force him to confess somehow, Or run away, After all, He just took down a troll one on one, She was sure he could defeat her if he so pleased, Then should she launch a surprise attack, But that might lead to escalation...

Her thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly called her name, And she was thought he had spotted her, But no, He was still looking in the other direction.

'Wait why is he looking for me in there'

"Hello !!, Hermione you can come out now the troll is... sleeping, Hello!"

"Please don't be hurt"

'What the hell is going on, why was he even looking for me, And why does he sound so concerned, None of this makes a lick of sense, And I am even more confused than when this day started '

"Shit, She isn't here after all, And I nearly got myself killed for nothing, She is probably in the library or the common room safe and sound and I came here and fought with a troll for no reason, Huuffffff, I need to stop jumping to conclusions all the time, I let my fear get the better of me "

'What fears, And why is he so concerned with where I am, Does he know I am onto him'

"I should get out of here before the teachers come and I have to explain what I am doing here"

'Crap he is coming out I better get out of here '

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"Hermione where were you ?"

Parvati said when Hermione finally made her way back to the first-year girls' dorm room

"Oh... I was in the library when the whole troll thing happened what about you"

"Oh that's fine I guess, I was in the great hall with everyone "

"What happened anyway I didn't hear the whole story "

Parvati sat back down on her bed while massaging her left hand.

"Oh we were eating dinner when professor Quirrell rushed into the great hall and said there was a troll on the loose in the school and then everybody panicked and started running and screaming and then the headmaster yelled at us to calm down and sent all the students to their rooms and went to deal with the troll on his own"

"That.. that sounds... What's wrong with your hand did you fall on it or something?"

"Oh this, This happened because of the stupid boy Liam "

"WHAT??"

"Oh right he was asking about you"

"Asking how"

"Oh and nobody could find him also when we got to the portrait"

"Parvati please just tell me what happened in order "

"Well..., Ok, Me and Liam were talking in the great hall and when we heard about the troll he looked panicked all the sudden and grabbed my hand really hard and kept asking me where YOU were, And he wouldn't let go until I told him I don't know, And on the way back he disappeared somewhere and no one noticed until we reached the common room, Anddd oh and then you came in right now, So why was he looking for you?"

Hermione just went and sat on her bed without answering that very same question she had been asking herself since she escaped from the troll, And was even more conflicted now.

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Well that went wrong in every way imaginable, But I think my biggest problem is second-guessing, I shouldn't lose my nerves that quick if I am going to do what I need to do, And I can't be that impulsive as well, I almost got caught because I was too busy chasing whoever it was that saw me, The fact that they ran away means that they are not a teacher and all of the students should have been on their way to their rooms, Hufflepuff and Slytherin are both underground so they are unlikely, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw where both right Infront of me when I split, And I am pretty sure no one noticed me so who does that leave '

'Wait there was one Gryffindor student that was unaccounted for, The reason this whole mess happened to begin with '

'Hermione Granger'