It had been one month since I came to Hogwarts, and I was chosen as the Gryffindor's seeker in the Quidditch team.

Hermione and I were pretty close. We always studied together and she always cheered me on whenever Gryffindor team was having a Quidditch practice. As for Ron, I wasn't pretty close to him because unlike him, I didn't have time to fool around. And I preferred being in Hermione's company than his.

It was the match day between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

And I sat in the Great Hall with Hermione eating breakfast. While I ate, I saw the newspaper. And the headline was the break-in in Gringotts. It said vault number 713 was the intended target but the contains had already been withdrawn. And I knew exactly what was the content. The Sorcerer's Stone.

"What are you reading, Harry?" she asked me.

"An attempt to break-in into Gringotts."

"What is it that was stolen?" I still couldn't decide whether or not I should involve her in this.

Here goes nothing, "Nothing was stolen as the vault was emptied before the attempt. But I know what the content is," I looked to her to see her response.

"What is it?" she trusted me.

"The one and only Sorcerer's Stone. The masterpiece of Nicholas Flamel," I explained to her. "Please keep this between us. I don't want to bring unnecessary attentions. Can you do it?"

"Yes. Of course."

And that got out of the way, I needed to focus on the game and slaughter the snakes.

When I was chosen as the seeker that day, I called Sirius using my phone and told him to send me my racing broom. I told him I made it to the team and so on.

Right now I was chasing after the snitch and leaving behind the Slytherin seeker. I saw Oliver Wood was down and I needed to catch the snitch and end the game.

I raced through the sky but suddenly my broom was acting weird.

Quirell, I thought darkly. I should have be careful.

Everyone was watching trying to keep my balance in the air.

I looked towards his direction and casted my fire spell under his robes. And then the tribune was in havoc but I was getting my broom back on control and continued my game.

I was diving to the ground to chase the snitch and catch it. The Slytherin seeker was backing out when the ground was getting closer. I pulled up my broom while still on high speed and I was just a meter above the ground. I tried to reach the snitch but I couldn't.

Let's do rodeo, I thought.

I got on the broom on my feet and standing on it like I was a cowboy on his horse. I willed my magic to make the broom go faster. When I felt I was close enough, I jumped towards the snitch and do a salto before landing on the ground with the snitch in my hand.

The moment I landed, there was dust everywhere covering vision. After a while, I could see the crowds and raised my hand up and show them the snitch.

They were roaring and shouting my name. I won us the first game. I smirked and basked myself in glory.

"That was incredible, Harry!" Hermione shouted and hugged me after the game. I laughed at her behavior but that's fine.

"Well thank you, Hermione. I'm glad you enjoyed the show."

And then we walked to the common room to celebrate our first victory.

I was in the Charm class with Professor Flitwick teaching us firsties the levitation charm. The prelude to the troll incident.

I saw Ron and Hermione bickering and arguing about how to do the spell the right way. After Ron had enough of her, he challenged her to demonstrate it if she felt she was right.

Lo and behold, Hermione executed it perfectly and the feather was floating.

"I have not seen you waving your wand even once, Mr. Potter."

Suddenly Professor Flitwick was standing beside me and asked that.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I was distracted," I smoothly replied.

He smiled, "Ah. Ms. Granger, I presume? But regardless, let me see your work."

I lifted up my wand and casted the Levitation Charm flawlessly and effortlessly. And then Flitwick praised me and awarded me with ten points.

On the other side, Hermione and Ron's argument ended with Ron sulking because of Hermione's "attitude".

The class went on and then it was over before I knew it.

Hermione and I were leaving the class and I saw Ron and his group were walking ahead of us. We heard their conversation about Hermione. Hermione, being the eleven year old she was, couldn't stand it and took off leaving me behind even though I called her a few times.

"Hermione!"

She brushed through Ron and left.

I caught up with them and stood in front of them.

I put on my angry face, "Look at what you've done to her. Especially you, Ron Weasley. If I don't hear any of you apologize to her by the dinner, you won't like what I'm gonna do to you."

They looked angry at my threat and Ron, being the fool he was, snapped back.

"You don't know what she did to me or know how I feel because-"

"You can't bear the thoughts of her being better than you and your laziness have already clouded your already narrow minded mind. I know I'm smart and so does she. Well, I can't blame you because you don't have what we have. Have you ever heard of the saying, 'great minds think alike'?"

After saying my piece of mind, I left them. I was aware of my action and the outcome it would bring. But I had no regrets. Hermione's my friend, and I would protect her.

Dinner came, and I sat alone on the Gryffindor table. Hermione, still in her miserable state of mind, had not come to the Great Hall.

"What's on your mind there, Harry?" that sound was familiar.

I looked up and saw Katie Bell. A chaser for the Quidditch team. She's quite the beauty, honestly.

"Nothing, Katie. It's just Hermione. I'm worried about her," I said to her. Katie was one of a few upperclassmen, besides the Twins, who I trusted.

"So, what's wrong with the Future-Lady-Potter?" She asked me with her playful tone.

I smiled at her words. "A delightful thought. Actually, she isn't here because of her own housemate words about her that were not kind. She is still somewhere in this castle, dealing with her emotion. But I'm afraid, I have a terrible feeling about this. It is Halloween, after all."

She laughed at that. And then suddenly…

SLAM

"Troll! A troll in the dungeon."

After several more shouting, Quirellmort went unconscious. I knew this would come and Dumbledore took control of the students, gave the same command to the prefects and then asked the teachers to go with him to the dungeon.

As all the students went on with their respective house prefects, I sneaked out and disillusioned myself.

I was thankful that my bottomless bag was with me. My goblin forged cutlass was inside of it. And it's time for Troll Slaying.

I arrived on time as I saw the troll just came in the girl's bathroom. I put silencing charm on my feet to avoid being detected.

I waited for Hermione to come out of the toilet. And she came out to be greeted by a mountain troll. She was shocked and terrified.

"Hermione, get out of the way!" I made myself known and threw some spells at the troll. As expected, the spells did nothing to the troll.

In fact, I could throw some darker spells at it, but it would only rise suspicions as to how a mere first year could know such hideous spell.

Hermione went back to the toilet and closed the door. I pulled out my sword and gave it a few swings. I charged at the troll, aiming for its feet.

It roared and aimed its club to crush me. I slid down to keep my head from being hit with the club, and slashed its left ankle. The blade could cut through the thick skin of a troll because there's magic that I imbued it in.

It roared in pain and attempted to struck me again. I dodged the attack gracefully without wasting any moment. The club hit the ground but the troll was slow on the follow through. While its hand was still on the ground, I cut the joint on its hand and sliced through the muscle on the elbow and upper arm.

It released its club as its right arm was completely useless. I rushed to it, raising my blade and with a fast strike I slashed its abdomen while spilling some blood. It roared once again, but in pain this time, before dropping to its knees.

I decided it was enough and struck its heart. Making it drop dead.

I swung my blade to get rid off the blood from it, and I casted scourgify to cleansed myself from the troll's blood.

"It is safe now, Hermione. Come out," I said.

She came out of the toilet and gasped at the sight. The sight of me with my blade and a dead troll at my feet was quite a view for an eleven year old girl.

"You killed it?" she asked.

"Yeah. I killed it."

"But how? It was several times bigger than even an adult."

"Your welcome, Hermione," I replied. She was being skeptical rather than being thankful. Sometimes her curiosity eclipsed her common sense.

I put the Night's Edge – I thought that would be an awesome name, fitting for its blade color, black – back into my bag before the teachers arrived at the scene.

Feeling that she didn't get any answer from her question for me, Hermione asked me the same question after thanking me and added a 'how did a sword get into a small bag' question.

"I used my sword to killed it. It was goblin forged, so it contains magic. While troll sure is spell resistance, doesn't mean it is magic resistance," I explained to her in a simple way. I couldn't tell her the entirety of the fight, could I?

"Harry, what would happen if a professor know you have a weapon in your possession? Would you get in trouble?" she asked.

"Unless you'd tell them I posses one, I would. Would you tell them?" I retorted back. I hoped this incident would strengthen our friendship. Life or death situation tended to do just that to most people.

She shook her head in negative. "Don't worry, I won't tell. I can keep your secret. Besides, it is the least I could do for you."

I smiled at her. "Let's get out of here."

Before we even took five steps…

"Merlin's beard! What happened here?!"

…troubles had arrived.

Dumbledore with McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick looked at me and Hermione and then at the dead troll.

"Why do both of you are here instead of in your common room?" asked McGonagall.

"We are sorry, professors. But in my defense, I got to warn Hermione of the troll. So I looked for her in hope the troll wasn't in here," I told them. Their faces were if the confused one, so I elaborated. "Hermione wasn't at the Hall when Professor Quirell warned us about the troll."

"And why were you not at the Great Hall, Ms. Granger?" asked McGonagall to her.

"…" she stayed silent in shame.

"After the Charm class today, Ron Weasley and his group were bad mouthing Hermione because they cannot accept the fact that Hermione here is better than Ron in Charm. I was with Hermione on the way out when we heard him. And Hermione took off after hearing what he said, leaving me and I hadn't seen her at all since dinner started," now they understood why, and Hermione was… well, she's still looking at her feet.

"Now that explains why you both are here, we still don't get the how is that thing laying down, and dead," said Snape with his trademark sneer and cynical voice.

"A few well placed broken, sharp pipes from the sink to its heart would do a fine job, professor," I gave off my innocence smile at him as I replied him.

"I doubt it. Why don't you just tell us the truth? I believe you used dark magic, courtesy of Black teaching him those."

"Well, do you see any indication of me using dark spells on the troll's body? I believe there are cuts and intestines instead of nasty results of dark magic. I thought we were clear on regards I am not James Potter," I sneered back at him.

"Enough! Both of you. Twenty points to Gryffindor for sheer dumb luck for slaying a mountain troll and live to tell the tale," said Dumbledore ending our arguments. "It would be best if you go to your common room."

Hermione and I nodded at him. "Good night, professors."

"Harry."

"Yes, Hermione?"

"Why did you save me?"

"Where's that coming from? Of course I'd do it! You are my friend, Hermione. One of my precious people."

She stared at me while taking my words to heart.

"Thank you."

"That's what friends are for," I gave her my warm smile.

"I'll protect you from harm."

And then we got inside the Gryffindor common room.

As we got inside the room, the whole house was on shock as they saw us. A lot of people asked me and Hermione a lot of questions. Pissed off that I was, I snapped at them.

I went up to my room and changed my clothes into a sleeping wear.

"I'm glad you're okay, mate."

A voice was heard. A familiar one. And I needed this.

I looked towards the source and saw Ron. I got out of my bed and walked towards him. My anger flowed out of my body in the form of magic, overwhelming him and scaring him.

When I was close enough, I grabbed his cloth, picked him up, and said, "You little piece of shit. Do you know what almost cost you because of your petty, stupid jealousy?! Because of you that Hermione almost got killed! I expect an apology tomorrow morning to her. Don't even try to lie to me, cause I'll know."

My little display of power left him pissing himself. He could kill himself for all I know. It seemed that I was so angry, I didn't notice that we had an audience. All of my roommates were standing on the door. They stepped out of my way as I walked out of the room.

Before I forgot, I raised my hand towards my bag and summoned it wordlessly and wandlessly.

It appeared that I should use the Room of Requirements for tonight. I pulled out my Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map from my bag and began my way there.

Little that I knew…

"What's the smell? It almost like someone just pissing himself," Seamus said to everyone.