The Marauders 2.0

Blood and Trolls

A/N:
There are some slight mentions of blood at the end.

Halloween was a grand affair in Hogwarts. The whole castle was decorated with pumpkins and lanterns and bats. It was cozy and chaotic and perfect. Caelus loved it.

The boy woke up in a very good mood. The last full moon had been relatively easy, and he didn't have any injuries that would permanently scar. It was his second full moon at school. Without his father, it wasn’t exactly his idea of fun, but he managed. None of the other boys in his dorm had realized where he went on full moons yet.

He skipped down to breakfast in a cheerful mood, seeing Ari, Hermione, and Neville already seated. Neither Ron nor Harry were early risers, and neither was he, but he made exceptions on holidays. Though he honestly wouldn't be surprised if Harry didn't leave his dorm at all, Caelus thought as he spread jam across his toast. After all,  it was the anniversary of his parent’s deaths.

Cealus didn't let his thoughts linger on the subject, and focused on eating his toast. He saw Harry and Ron enter the great hall a moment later and made room for them to sit down. Though it had been two whole months since they had met, Caelus was not particularly close to either of the boys. He mainly hung out with Aquarius, Neville, and Hermione. However, he was lonely. His father had warned him of this, of the ramifications that being a werewolf had, but he had brushed him off.

He was right though.

Being a werewolf was lonely.

The Gryffindors proceeded through the day with relative ease. The only hiccup in Caelus’s day was after Charms, when Ron told Harry that Hermione was a know it all and it was no wonder she had no friends. Hermione ran past them, clearly in tears. Harry had the grace to look ashamed, but Caelus wanted to punch Ron for hurting his friend’s feelings. Caelus would have followed her, but she went into the girl’s bathroom before he could catch up, leaving him to rush to his next class, Herbology.

By that night at the feast, Hermione was still missing. Caelus asked the Gryffindor girls about it and was informed by Parvati Patil that Hermione was still in the bathroom, crying.

“Hey Ari!” he said, interrupting her conversation with Neville about something that sounded like gillweed.
“What Caelus?” she asked, appearing slightly irritated at the interruption.
“Well, I need your help,” he said, leaning across the table. “What with?” she asked. “I need you to go to the first floor girls bathroom and help me cheer Hermione up.” he said.

Her face softened, and she nodded in agreement. “Give me a second. She hasn't eaten since breakfast, so I'll grab her some food.”

About five minutes later, the two snuck off out of the Great Hall. Ari had some rolls, chicken, and chocolate in her book bag for Hermione. They arrived at the girls bathroom, and Caelus decided to stand outside and wait for Ari to try to help Hermione.

~

Ari walked into the bathroom. From the last stall, she heard the telltale sounds of crying.

“Hermione? Are you ok?” she asked. The crying stopped, and Hermione’s voice answered, sounding like she had a stuffy nose. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.”

“I know that that’s a lie. Come on out of the stall and we can talk about it.” Ari invited, perching herself on a sink. Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing hermione. She had clearly been crying for a while. Her eyes were red-rimmed and the sleeves of her robes were wet. “So. What happened and who do I need to kill?” she asked. She had a rundown of events from Caelus, but she was sure there were important details that she was missing.

Hermione gave a small chuckle, and sat on the sink next to her friend.

“It was Ron. He was mad at me for correcting him in Charms and he said I was an insufferable know-it-all and I know I shouldn’t care what he thinks because he’s a git but I do care and I feel horrible.” She started crying again.

Ari considered her options. Uncle Regulus always told her to find the potential paths then work towards the best solution. She could try to figure out why Hermione cared so much, or she could attempt to calm the girl down. She chose the second option, and stuffed a chocolate frog at Hermione, who took it, surprised. Her sobs began to die down to sniffles, and then to the occasional hiccup as she ate. Seeming to realize just how hungry she was, the girl wolfed down the rest of the food Ari had brought.

~

Caelus was bored. Keeping watch for teachers, though practical, was boring. The first few minutes, he kept himself busy by casting some basic charms. Then he noticed that there were no students in the hallway, and proceeded to do so many cartwheels he was dizzy and slightly nauseous. Then he cast some more fairy lights. He was so absorbed in his spell that the smell hit him first. It was absolutely disgusting, and at the end of the hallway was a troll.

Caelus did the sensible thing. This deserves mention because it wasn't something he did often. What he would have usually done would have been take it on one-on-one with his (rudimentary at best) knowledge of defensive magic. Instead, he swore and ran into the bathroom to warn the girls.

“There’s a troll, I don't know how it got here but there’s a troll and we have got to leave NOW!” he yelled, startling them both. The girls looked at him in confusion, but he grabbed their arms and started to drag them to the door. Unfortunately, the troll decided to come through the door. The three kids immediately ran, trying to avoid it.

However, it seemed it wanted to squish them with its club, and demolished the entire row of sinks, sending chunks of porcelain raining down on the children. It then destroyed the stalls, one by one.

Caelus suddenly had a stupid idea. He knew it was stupid, but he didn't have a choice.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” he yelled, pointing his wand at the troll. Its club flew out of its hands, smashing against the opposite wall. Instead of picking up the club, the troll punched its arm through the wall near the sinks, grabbing a pipe and tugging. The pipe came loose with a crash of rubble and snap of metal.

The pipe was jagged on both ends, easily sharp enough to stab. The troll picked a target, Hermione, and threw the pipe. It was aiming straight for her heart.

Several things happened at once. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter ran into the room. Ron accidentally knocked the troll out with the same spell as earlier. Hermione, frozen in fear, didn’t move as the pipe hurtled towards her. Suddenly, she was pushed out of the way and she cried out, landing on her shoulder.

All was silent for a moment as the pipe hit the wall. Then there was a drip. Then another. Then a horrible scream echoed through the room as Ari looked down at the metal rob impaling her stomach.

Caelus could do nothing but stare in horror at the dripping crimson staining her robes and pooling on the floor at their feet.