Chapter 108

"Well, because he stopped You-Know-Who, right?" asked Hannah, now sounding confused and a trifle uneasy. Susan was beginning to feel the same way. She couldn't help but feel there was something she was forgetting. "I mean, that's what Dumbledore said. That he stopped the killing curse You-Know-Who sent at him as a baby and caused the man's downfall."

"And all it cost him to do so were his parents."

Silence. Despite the amount of jubilant noise around them, the four who sat with Neville were completely silent as the realization of why Harry was absent sunk in. After all, who would want to celebrate the day their parents died?

Susan felt horrible. Here she was, thinking about how much fun she was going to have on Halloween and what she would be eating at the feast, and Harry Potter was thinking about how his parents had been killed on that same day. How could she be such an awful friend?

The others didn't look like they were doing any better. Lisa and Hannah had a hand to their mouths, and Susan could see unshed tears in their eyes. Terry looked like he was about to be sick, his plate pushed aside as he lost his appetite.

It was so easy to forget that the reason Harry Potter's title as the Boy-Who-Lived came about because his parents had died and he had not. Aside from that one time she and Hannah first met him on the train, Harry never spoke of his parent's deaths, never mentioned that it might still bother him. But then, that was only natural right? Who would want to think about how their parents were killed?

"It's very easy for people to forget what Harry lost that day," Neville continued in a quiet tone, and Susan couldn't help but feel there was something in his voice that said he could relate to Harry in ways the others couldn't. "We only ever think about the peace we were granted because of what happened to Harry, and how famous he's for surviving the killing curse. We never remember that on that day, Harry lost both of his parents when he was only one year old."

"Do you think..." Susan started, only to stop and wipe at the tears in her eyes. She felt a sense of indefinable guilt and sadness settle upon her. Halloween would never be the same for her now that she realized how horrible it must be for Harry. "Do you think we should go find him? You know, to let him know we're here for him?"

"No," Neville said surely. "Harry informed me before I left for the feast that he wanted to be alone. Besides, I doubt we'd find him before curfew."

"Wouldn't he be in the library?" asked Lisa. "That's one of his favorite spots."

"I doubt it. It would be too easy for someone to find him if he went there. More than likely, Harry's somewhere wandering through the halls. There are so many of those in Hogwarts that it would take hours to search them all."

"I guess you're right," Hannah said, her shoulders slumping. She looked as defeated as Susan felt. Was she feeling the same guilt currently racking Susan's mind?

Just then, the large doors to the Great Hall burst open and in came Professor Quarrel. The man was a mess. His robes were dirty and frayed and ripped, and his turban sat askew on his head. His eyes were wide and frightened, flickering back and forth, as if seeing some unknown horror only he could see. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"

Or a troll.

With those words pandemonium soon broke out as students started screaming and yelling and talking all at once, a threnody of voices shouting in a symphony of fear. Susan noticed that all of her friends were pale, probably wondering the same thing she was. How could a troll get into the school? Hogwarts was protected by a number of powerful enchantments. While Susan didn't know what any of those enchantments were, she could only assume there was something to keep trolls out. It seemed that wasn't the case.

Professor Quirrel fainted in a dead fright, falling to the ground face first while the other Professors tried to restore order. Albus Dumbledore stood to his feet, the twinkle in his eyes gone as he pulled out his wand and thrust it into the air.

There was a loud 'bang!' like the sound of a muggle canon being fired. The silence became so deafening afterward that it almost seemed as if time had come to a standstill.

"There is no need for alarm or panic," Professor Dumbledore began in a calm tone. "I want all prefects to lead their Houses to their dormitories immediately. The professors and I will go down and deal with the troll."

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