The Cunning and Ambitious

Chapter Ten

Mcgonagall was right, becoming an animagi is hard, but I feel like I may be handling it fairly well so far. At first, it was going pretty well, and sort of easy, but now maybe a month into these weekly practice, I can barely keep up.

About everything else, I feel the school year has gone by way too fast for me. One moment I'm learning, the next moment it's Halloween. Not much has happened, to be honest, school work has gone okay, my mom didn't murder me for being in Slytherin, surprisingly, being friends with Ron and Harry has it's perks, like being able to try out Harry's new Nimbus 2000 (Professor Mcgonagall gave it to him for being on the Gryffindor quidditch team), and my own friends even celebrated the fact that I'm friends with a celebrity. They don't like him though...

And now, charms. Yay. The class is better than History of Magic, and a tiny bit more fun than Herbology, but other than that, it's not one of my favorites. After weeks of learning the stupid 'Swish and Flick' movement, Prof Flitwick is teaching us the spell for levitation. We're all paired up. I catch Harry being teamed up with Seamus Finigan and Ron being teamed up with Hermione, Tracey gets paired with Pansy Parkinson and Daphne is with Blaise. I on the other hand, get paired with Malfoy. Pansy and Malfoy have been my least favorites, worse than Nott, and I don't like him much at all.

Malfoy doesn't say anything though, only working on the spell.

I try it out, "Wingardium Leviosa!" the feather I use the spell on starts levitating a bit higher as I guide it with my wand. I smirk. I force it over across the room and have it lay on Hermione's head. My biggest rival in the school. This'll show her I'm smarter. I think to myself.

Nobody notices my success, not even my partner the person sitting right next to me! Gahhh...

Hermione does notice my feather on her head and she glares at me, I smirk back, she rolls her eyes.

"Are you seriously flirting with Granger?" Malfoy states.

"Are you seriously that dumb? Does anyone notice anything in this classroom? I literally sent my feather to the other side of the room and no one noticed." I breathe angrily.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Hermione lifts her feather into the air.

"Congratulations! Miss Granger here just succeeded! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Prof Flitwick exclaims. Malfoy snickers beside me, I raise my hand.

"Yes, Miss Hall?"

"Sir, I just sent my own feather over there just moments ago, before Hermione showed off again."
"Is that so?"

Malfoy fails to hide his laughter beside me.

"My feather's over there."

"Very well, five points to Slytherin as well."

Five points?! FIVE POINTS!!! I am going to murder Hermione Granger. My thoughts are getting quite violent.

Malfoy raises his hand in protest.

"Mr Malfoy?"

"You gave Granger five more points you did for Hall."

"Well, she finished first."

Across the room Hermione grins proudly, I glare at her.

                                                                                          ∼⛦∼

The rest of the day goes by quite swiftly and I can't keep myself from being excited for the Halloween feast. The first feast was already so majestic, I wonder how different this afternoon's is going to be.

Then I hear the rumor. "Hermione Granger has been in the girls bathroom crying all day." This day couldn't have gotten better.

Moments before the beginning of the feast I head down there, telling Daphne and Tracey that I'd meet up with them later. I trot into the chamber. The rumors were true, Hermione is crying in here. It's too good to be true.

"Ey! Hermione!" I start laughing to myself, "I heard you've been sobbing in here all day." I scoff, "I couldn't believe it."

"A- Aran. Please." Hermione says in tears.

"You know, I have no idea that you were so sensitive. If someone said some jerk-face thing to me, they'd get a bloody nose. I guess we're just two very different geniuses."

I get no response, just more crying from Granger.

"All of the teachers are so unfair when they're around you. Like, honestly, you're not the only smartie in the classroom. At least Snape doesn't like you as much."

"Aran shut it." Hermione says from inside her stall.

"'Shut it'? Why would I? I've gotten my only competition crying in a bathroom stall. You couldn't get more pathetic." I laugh again, then I hear an echo and it sounds like the rest of the kids are rushing back to the common rooms.

"Oh come on! You've made me miss the entire feast!" I shout.

But then I hear something else, footsteps...

"What was that?" I back away from the entrance to the door and place my back firmly against the back wall. As the footsteps slowly get louder, Hermione joins me. I feel around for my wand, then I realise. I left it near my bed. We're doomed.

A troll, maybe 12 feet tall, crashes into the room. I'm petrified, Hermione screams. At least I'm not as prone to show my emotions. I drop to the ground and curl up and the troll swings its weapon wildly around, nearly hitting Hermione's head if she hadn't dropped to the ground with me. I sit there curled up against the wall, Granger crouched next to me. I watch as terror as the troll raises it's club above me, prepared to strike. Hermione notices this as well. She drags me out of the way into safety. I can't even utter my thanks though, because the troll attempts to kill us again.

Ron and Harry burst into the room.

"Hermione!! Aran!" They shout, and then Ron takes a bit of a pipe from the sink and throws it at the troll, trying to distract it. Both of them continue doing so, and then Harry stupidly leaps at the troll, hanging on to it's neck, trying to stay on. Ron in the meantime, pulls out his wand as the troll prepares to smash Hermione and I.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The troll's club stays in mid-air, greatly confusing it. Then it drops knocking the monster out, cold. I lean my head over, breathing heavily from the fear of that troll killing me.

"Remind me again, why the wizarding world is so superior to the Muggle world?" I get up and help Hermione up in the process. "I'm sorry." I tell her. "For everything. I shouldn't have said any of that."

"It's okay." she says, "It wasn't exactly the meanest thing ever."

"So, we good?" I hold out my hand for a handshake. Instead Hermione shoves it aside and hugs me.

"Are we going to get any thanks?" Ron asks.

Footsteps echo in the hall again, but this time it's a bunch of teachers. Professor Quirrell sees it first and nearly faints. Snape and Mcgonagall seem infuriated though.

"Would you mind explain just what happened here?!" Mcgonagall directs.

Harry and Ron are about to explain, but Hermione interrupts them.

"It was my fault, professor. I read all about them so I came thinking I could stop the troll, I dragged Aran along with me. If Harry and Ron hadn't arrived, both of us would probably be dead."

"Miss Granger, I am very disappointed in you. Ten points from Gryffindor." Mcgonagall turns to Harry and Ron, "As for you two, for sheer dumb luck, five points for both of you. You will all return to your common rooms to finish the feast there." She turns around and leaves the room, the other teachers following.