YOU DID WHAT?

Great Hall, (Nov. 1 st )...

"I heard he blasted it through a wall," said Lisa Turpin.

"No, he transfigured it and then conjured a cage for it," Su Li said adamantly.

Terry Boot shook his head. "My sister Michelle is a fourth year Gryffindor, and she said that it was actually a running battle through the corridors and that everyone in Gryffindor house could hear it."

"What is everyone talking about?" Harry asked as he took a seat at the Ravenclaw table for lunch.

"You don't know?" asked Padma Patil in shock.

"Know what?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Everyone's saying that your brother killed the mountain troll that broke into the castle last night! No one knows how exactly, but apparently there was a big fight and a bathroom got destroyed," Michael Corner explained.

"What?" Harry asked, dumbfounded. "There is no way Nathan could kill a mountain troll."

Harry was once again frustrated at the pitying looks that his fellow Ravenclaws sent at him. The fact that he constantly rebutted their theories that Nathan was some kind of Merlin-incarnate seemed to make his fellow Ravenclaws feel that he was jealous of his brother.

"Well, explain the points Gryffindor house got last night then? Plus, everyone in Gryffindor is talking about it," Mandy Brocklehurst said haughtily.

Harry was about to argue the intelligence of Gryffindor house as a whole when most of the Great Hall grew quiet, and everyone's head seemed to turn towards the doors. Reluctantly, Harry turned his head and saw his brother walk into the hall with Ron Weasley and, surprisingly, Hermione Granger next to him. The fact that all three of them were blushing told Harry that something had happened.

Sighing, Harry stood up and walked over to where his brother was sitting at the Gryffindor table. He didn't believe the rumors at all, but his brother's reaction coupled with the fact that there were rumors told him he needed to figure out what was going on.

Crossing the hall in a matter of seconds, he came to stand directly behind his brother. "We need to talk."

Nathan slowly turned around and let a bit of a sheepish grin cross his face. Before he could talk though, Hermione said, "You know, it's very rude to interrupt conversations."

Harry fixed the girl with his impression of Professor Snape's stare after a Hufflepuff ruined a Potion. When Granger shut up immediately, Harry knew that he had at least marginally succeeded in mimicking Professor Snape.

"Now, Nathan," Harry commanded impatiently.

Nathan slowly stood up and the two brothers quickly made their way out of the Great Hall. Harry led Nathan into an unused Charms classroom, and he immediately cast a silencing charm on the door before turning to face his brother.

"Okay, Nathan, explain."

"Well...you see, Harry, Ron had said some mean things to Hermione after Charms yesterday," Nathan started, "and she ran into a bathroom to cry."

"So Weasley is a jerk," Harry said, sounding unimpressed. "Get to the point where you are doing battle with a Troll."

Nathan looked slightly angry at Harry's description of Ron, but he ignored it and pressed on with the story. "Well after Quirrell warned everyone in the Great Hall last night, Ron and I remembered Hermione and we went to warn her."

"And I suppose this is when you ran into it in the hallway and had this running battle that everyone is talking about?"

"Um...no. We sort of, accidentally, locked the troll in the bathroom with Hermione," Nathan said sheepishly. "We immediately went back to help after we realized what we did, but Hermione was a little freaked out to find herself locked in a room with a Mountain Troll."

"Since Granger isn't dead or in the hospital wing, I assume you were able to save her?"

Nathan quickly nodded his head.

"How?" Harry asked, more curious than angry now.

"Ron was able to knock it out with his own club using the levitation spell."

"That's...surprisingly smart of him. Maybe he isn't a total idiot after all," Harry said more to himself than to Nathan. "I'm surprised that you didn't think of something to do first."

"I did try to do something," Nathan admitted.

"Oh?" Harry asked. "Troll skin is resistant to most spells, so any jinx or hex probably wouldn't have had an effect on it."

"Yeah," Nathan said, laughing somewhat uncomfortably, "Hermione mentioned that."

"So what spell did you use?" Harry asked curiously.

"I didn't use a spell, I went with a...different approach."

"What kind of different approach?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Istuckmywandupitsnose."

"Excuse me," Harry said, "Care to repeat that?"

"I said, I stuck my wand up its nose," Nathan said before ducking, as if expecting Harry to hit or curse him.

Instead of hitting his brother, Harry had closed his eyes and was trying to eliminate the mental image of Nathan on the back of a Troll. Finally, he addressed his brother in an eerily calm voice. "You are, without a doubt in my mind, the luckiest person I have ever met. If you do anything that stupid again, you won't have to worry about detentions, losing house points, or the eventual Howler Mum would send because I'm telling you right now...I will kill you myself." Harry then shook his head one more time before walking out of the room, muttering about stupid brothers and needing a calming potion so that he wouldn't do something he might regret.