The feast that had been so rudely interrupted in the great hall was resumed in the common room, as food started coming up. Harry paid utmost attention to Hermione, holding her hand constantly. At first, she was still a bit shocked, not paying much attention to anything. After a while, she regained her composure and looked more lively and attentive to what was going on, yet she didn't let go of Harry's hand. Neville joined them for the feast. Ron tried to come closer, gaining such a venomous glance from the three friends, that he turned around quickly.
Professor McGonagall came to the common room about an hour later. "The troll was found in the girls' bathrooms on the third floor. It managed to inflict some damage to the stalls before being knocked out so thoroughly that it will need a few days to wake up. It was promptly transported to some distant mountains, where its kind dwells."
She now turned to Hermione. "Your bag was found there as well. Did you stun the troll?"
"No. I was there when Harry called for me to go to safety. The troll arrived a moment later, so we had to leave real fast." Hermione was content to tell the truth without revealing anything, really.
The professor turned to Harry. "Did you do it?"
"I had no time to even grab my wand, and I don't think I know any spell I could use against the troll. Aren't they supposed to be quite immune to most spells?"
She nodded. "They are, but if aimed at their eyes or their nostrils, some spells may still affect them."
Harry smiled. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever meet another troll."
\/\/\/
Harry wasn't surprised when Hermione faded into his bed that night. He hugged her tightly, showing with his hug how much he cared for her. She hugged him back just as tightly.
"I want you to know that I'm your friend and I'll always be your friend. I want you to always play an important role in my life for as long as we both shall live," Harry told her solemnly.
"Oh, Harry! It's so nice of you to say so, but we're both too young to give such a promise, although I also want you to play a major role in my life and I hope to always be your friend."
They both tightened the hug. Their cheeks touched and they felt as if they were connected in a deeper sense. Smiling, they both drifted asleep.
\/\/\/
Dumbledore was not happy. First, he didn't know who let the troll in, as it could not have entered by itself. Then, there was the mystery of who got rid of the troll. The only possible witnesses were Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, and none had seen anybody else, nor admitted doing it. Yet it was clear to him that they were not telling the whole truth. Shouldn't he try to speak with them?
There was also that report of Potter using wandless magic. He wondered if it was true. Coming from Ron Weasley, it could also be only the boy's imagination, and yet... There was something about Harry which eluded him. He should pay the boy more attention, he decided.
\/\/\/
Hermione was nervous. "You don't need to worry," Harry told her, not for the first time. "He was no match for me, and you are even better at protecting your mind, as I've already told you. The first time he tried a sneak attack, assuming I won't even notice. He found the rock. I expected him to try again, so I had the playground ready. He only got a headache from it. I'm sure you can do much better than that, and your necklace will protect you against almost everything."
Hermione smiled reluctantly, touching her necklace, which was in its simple form since starting school. "I'm not sure it could protect me from the troll, but it does give me some reassurance," she said. "Will you stay close?"
"It wouldn't do to stay at his door, but I'll wait for you near the gargoyle guarding the stairs."
She was still nervous when entering the headmaster's office, 'just like a student should be,' Albus thought.
"Lemon drops?" he offered.
"No, thanks. Sweets are bad for the teeth," Hermione replied, repeating Harry's words.
"Care to tell me a bit about yourself?" he prompted her.
This was one of the strategies Harry had thought about and then noted in practice: Dumbledore would ask an open question which can keep her answering for a while, letting him penetrate her mind. Well, she knew he would be surprised.
"Both my parents are dentists, that is – tooth healers," she started, noticing that the headmaster seemed a bit unfocused, as if preoccupied with something else.
And he was. Hermione's mindscape looked like a vast library filled to the brim with various books, all muggle books for small children, as far as he could see. The books were colourful and bright, but he could find nothing of her memories or her thoughts. The few doors he found there only led to other library rooms, quite similar to the first. He didn't dare go too deep or he might have lost his way. Yet going back was not so easy. The doors that opened easily from one side were locked when coming from the other, lacking even a handle or a key-lock. The books were also not so benign when going back. They started falling, hitting his head with their spines or their metal-strengthened corners and just piling in front of him, blocking his way. It took him much longer going out than coming in.
"...and then Hagrid took Harry and me for shopping. It was really wonderful visiting Diagon Alley with him," Hermione concluded her story just as the headmaster found his way back into his own mind, breathing heavily. She looked at the old man. "Are you alright, sir?" she asked, seeming worried.
"Oh... I'm fine... Just a bit exhausted. Maybe I should consider retirement soon." He had never given it any serious thought, but if he'd lost his touch, then maybe...
"Do you want me to stay?"
"Well... Perhaps we should continue our conversation at another time. It looks like I'm more tired than I thought. Goodnight, Miss Granger."
Harry was at her side as soon as she passed the gargoyle. "How was it?"
"It was quite alright. I had him lost in the library and then attacked by books. I don't think he'll try that again very soon."
Harry smiled and then frowned. "What if he tries Neville? I'm not sure Neville has any protections, and he already knows more than I'd like the headmaster to find out."
"We can teach him. He learned very fast on the train and he seems to understand everything when one of us explains. We can get his shields up in a few days, I'm sure."
"Shall we start tomorrow?" he suggested.
Hermione smiled. "We have a free period before lunch. It could do for a start."
Neville proved his worth. When Dumbledore invited him to his office, a week later, he couldn't find anything but a vast greenhouse, full of dangerous plants. Dumbledore retreated quickly, wondering if his powers were leaving him. Just to check this out, he asked a few more students from different houses to visit his office. He had no problems reading their minds. Only these three first-year Gryffindors eluded him. He was now really worried about the possibility of his plans failing.
Yet the same troublesome three were becoming the most lauded students. Harry and Hermione were easily the best at charms and transfiguration while Neville excelled at Herbology. Even Snape had to admit that the Potter boy really had a talent at potions, just like his mother. He only succeeded to intimidate Neville, whose self-confidence was still a bit shaky.
\/\/\/
"My gran asked me to invite you for a visit during our Christmas vacation," Neville told them, a few days before the vacation.
"I'd be glad to come, but I'm not sure if I can. My relatives are not magical and they wouldn't want to come. Besides, I don't know how to reach your home," Harry said.
"We can meet at the Leaky Cauldron and take you from there, both of you." He now turned to Hermione. "Your parents may come as well, if they want."
"I'll have to ask them. I'll owl the answer to you. You don't have a telephone, do you?"
Neville frowned, trying to remember what that word meant. "I don't think we have," he said a moment later.
"Fine. An owl then. I'll have my parents invite you and your gran next time, so you'll see what it is."
Neville smiled hearing that. He had become a very close friend with Harry and Hermione since that train ride. He had previously had few friends, being raised in the Longbottom Manor, far from any other magical family. He was now glad to have such close friends.
They spent the train ride together. Ron didn't even try to join them, although his twin brothers came and stayed for a while, trying to learn from Harry how to do wandless magic. By now, Harry was too aware of their tendency to mischief and didn't cooperate at all, yet he made them believe that it was a natural talent which he wasn't able to teach.
Once left alone, Harry decided to introduce Silky to Neville. The boy gasped as he saw the snake coming out of Harry's sleeve. "It's been with you in the dorms since the start of term?" he asked.
"Sure! Where else would it be?"
"Where did it hide? I'm sure nobody saw it."
Harry smiled. "Silky stays with me. Whenever I don't want her to be seen, I let her sink into my skin, looking like a faint tattoo."
"The markings on your back, near your head?"
Harry smiled. "Can't hide them when using common showers, can I?"
Neville took a better look at the snake who curled around Harry's wrist and rested its head on Hermione's. "It really shines like silk, and I can see it already knows Hermione."
"$He isn't stupid, you know,$" Silky told Harry.
"$He isn't. He's quite smart and much braver than he thinks he is.$" Harry agreed.
"You can talk with it?" Neville gasped.
"Silky is female. She's just noted that you're smart."
"So, you do talk with snakes," Neville sounded alarmed. "I think you shouldn't let others know about it."
"Why?" both Harry and Hermione asked.
"Parselmouth, as this is called, is considered a trait of very dark wizards, although the only two known are Slytherin and... He Who Must Not Be Named." Neville paled at the last name.
"You mean Voldemort? I've found some information about him in my library. He was really bad, but I don't understand why people are so fearful of saying his name. Isn't he supposed to be dead?"
"I'm not sure, Harry. Gran has told me it was an awful time when he was in power. Many were killed and many were tortured. His followers were not all captured and some were requited, declaring they were under the Imperius Curse at the time, although gran believes it was just a false pretence. Nobody I know wants to be reminded of those times."
"What's the Imperius Curse?" Hermione asked.
Neville sighed. "I don't know exactly, but it is supposed to make the victim act like a mindless slave, doing whatever the caster wants him to do. It is very dark magic."
Hermione frowned. "I can see how it may be used for bad things, but I think it can be used for good things as well, like forcing one to take a very bad tasting medicine. I don't think magic is either good or bad. It is the intentions of the caster which make it one or the other, not the spell itself."
"Even killing and torture?" Neville asked.
"Well, maybe they are the exception. I must learn much more before I can form an educated opinion, though. Still, I'm sure there's more than one way to do most things," she said.
"Sure, just look at the ghosts at Hogwarts – each died in a different way, yet they are all just as dead," Harry said with a chuckle.
Neville would not be deterred, though. "Harry, I don't think you are a dark wizard or going to turn into one, but it would be better for you to keep this talking to snakes secret. You won't like the kind of attention it may bring to you."
"Sure, Neville. You know the magical world much better than either I or Hermione can, and I trust your advice. I know many people have some irrational fear of snakes and everything concerning them. This is why I kept Silky secret. You just gave me a few more reasons now."