Chapter 126

I decided than and there that next year I would bring ear plugs, or learn a silencing charm.

When everyone had finished, with the Weasley twins being the last having sang a slow, funeral song, Professor Dumbledore smiled and wiped his eyes.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

I stood up with the rest of the school and began following Percy with the other first years as we made our way to where we would be spending the next seven years. As I did though, my mind went back to what Dumbledore said about the third floor corridor. Something was there, hidden. Something dangerous. And I couldn't help but wonder what that something was, as well as why Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to hide whatever it was in a school full of children.

XoX

"So it's true then? You really did kill that troll?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably as Tracey looked at him in awe. He wasn't sure he liked the look she was giving him. He had come to terms with the fact that he had killed, had come to realize that what happened had been completely unavoidable, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with it. Still, he couldn't quite blame her for being amazed by what she perceived to be an incredible feat of magical prowess. She was not there, and she had not seen just how gruesome it had been.

"Yes," he said simply, hoping she would drop the subject. It was a false hope, he knew. Tracey was not the kind of girl to just let something like this go.

As if she trying to prove his point, Tracey let loose a loud groan of disappointment.

"Man, I can't believe I missed it!"

"Honestly," Harry looked over at the brunette, "I'm very glad you and Blaise were not there." For multiple reasons, if he were honest. He didn't want anymore people being exposed to the grisly scene that had been the troll's head exploding like an overripe grapefruit.

The brown haired girl gave him a curious look.

"Why not?"

"Because if you two had been there, then I would have had two more people to worry about."

The five who had been present during the troll incident flinched at the reminder. Harry closed his eyes, trying to stem the tide of guilt. Yes, his friends had been reckless, but he had been just as reckless, just as stupid. He could admit this. While he may have had a better chance at surviving an encounter with a troll than any other first year, it did not change the fact that he was still a first year.

"That troll was incredibly strong. It's hide was thick and had a lot of magical resistance. All but the most powerful of spells would not have worked on it, and even if you two had been there to combine spells with the others, we only know up to the first year defense spells, none of which pack enough power to do more than annoy it."

That had been the main reason Harry had been at such a loss at what to do. Even when he had pumped as much power as possible into his spells they hadn't even grazed its flesh. He probably could have shot it in the eye, that might have worked, but that could have also exacerbated the problem. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an extremely powerful magical creature in an enraged berserker state.

"We managed to escape that night with our lives due to luck and nothing else," Harry stated confidently. "If another variable had been added, say, two more people to enrage the troll further, it's quite possible all of us would have died that night." He looked over at the now pale Tracey, his eyes unconsciously softening ever so slightly. "And if that had happened I would have never forgiven myself. You guys are my friends, and I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."

It was almost amazing how quickly his feelings for these seven came into being. Lisa had taken several months before his heart opened up to her, several months of following him around despite telling her to get lost, several months of talking to him like he was her best friend. Several months of him being a complete jerk and ignoring her. These seven had done in two months what had taken Lisa more than twice that length of time to accomplish.

Perhaps he shouldn't be so surprised. Unlike with Lisa, who he had patently ignored until he gave into her demands, he had actually tried to befriend his friends at Hogwarts from the very start. This time it had not been them who initiated the relationship, but him. And maybe, just maybe, that made all the difference. Spending so much time with these people, getting to know them, letting them into his life in ways not even Lisa could no matter how much he wished it could be otherwise. Was it any wonder he had come to like them so much?

"Ah." Blood rushed to Tracey's face, turning it the same color as a Weasley's hair. She looked away and mumbled a soft, "thank you," before trying to get back to work. Harry frowned, but guessed he couldn't rightly blame her for her sudden shyness. She was probably just embarrassed.

He decided to save her from embarrassment and changed the subject.

"Has Daphne given any thought on joining us during these study sessions?"

Tracey shook her head, her shoulders slumping.

"No," she sighed, "I've asked her if she wanted to come several times, and each time she says no each time." She shook her head. "I even tried pointing out how much her grades could improve if she came with us. She might be consistently near the top, especially in Charms and Potions, but some of her other grades are nowhere near as good as they could be. Yet she still refused."

Harry frowned. He had hoped that Tracey would be able to convince her friend to come with her to at least one of these study sessions. It seemed the girl was adamant on being obstinate. And, most unfortunately, Harry did not know what to do to gain her friendship.

"I suppose the only thing we can do is wait and hope." Harry paused, then cast Tracey a look. "And you won't tell me why she refuses to spend any time with us?"

.

.

.

🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉

🎉ko-fi.com/shihao123🎉