AN: This Chapter contains minor character deaths. I tried not to go too in detail, just say what happened...

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

Living in Blood – Chapter 3 (When Darkness Calls and Beckons You)

Harry wasn't exactly sure what to expect as a Gryffindor. But he soon realized there was a rivalry between his house and Blaise's. He wasn't sure what to think of it. He couldn't understand why. Sure, maybe centuries ago there was a disagreement, but what did that have anything to do with today?

Blaise had laughed at that.

Harry looked annoyed at that.

"Calm down, Harry. It's just amusing because nobody ever questions why they should keep up the hatred between the houses," Blaise commented with a grin.

Harry huffed at that, "not my fault your mates are a bunch of gits…"

Blaise's lips quirked at that, "learn that from a friend, did you?"

Harry blushed in embarrassment, "may have overheard it from a redhead or two…"

Blaise snorted, "should have known it to be the Weasley Twins."

"You know them?" Harry asked surprised.

"Of them, they like to annoy their mother any possible way they can. Controlling woman from what I heard. And they're not that fond of their baby brother from the way I hear it," Blaise replied.

Harry laughed, not fond of Ron was putting it mildly. He had been there for a month and he noticed it from the start. Course he tried to ignore Ron whenever possible, something the Twins found hilarious. He sort of migrated towards three of the Gryffindors from his year. Two of which he had ate dinner with the first night.

That night, everyone had been too tired and full from dinner to say anything. Half listening what the prefect had told them. But knowing just enough how to get to their dorms. And that would begin the process of getting lost in the maze of the castle. But older students and ghosts had been very helpful those first few days until he got used to it. Well… as used as you could be in a magical school.

It was still a surreal feeling to wake up every morning to know you had to attend classes at a magical castle.

Neville, he quickly noticed was a bit shy and it took him a bit before he started responding to his words. And Dean was very quick to the conversation and was curious about everything. Then there was the final member that he was starting to become friends with. She was a bit bossy, but she clearly knew what she was talking about. At least it was definitely more than Harry knew about. Though he would learn later that she just tended to read and memorize the books. She did tend to remind him of Neville a bit, unsure how to start a conversation.

Harry found all of this weird to him, but in a good way. He had never had friends before Hogwarts. And it felt like he had four now. He couldn't help but hope they were his friends. Dudley had always scared away everyone that had the potential to be his friend.

Though he did choose to sit beside Blaise whenever they had class. Which was always Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. There had been some weird looks, but nothing was said. Though that could be because everyone was too scared of a certain professor. That didn't mean that Harry liked the professor. If anything, he was glad to be out of the classroom.

Even Blaise was frowning up at him. He wondered what Blaise was thinking. The Slytherin wound up shaking his head, as if trying to rid himself of the thought.

"Alright there, Blaise?" Harry asked.

"Just a thought I had, don't worry about it."

Harry looked unsure about that but let it drop. Maybe it wasn't all that important?

"Well… if you're sure, I got to meet up with Hermione Charms and then dinner."

Blaise nodded, "she's one smart witch, I'll give her that."

Harry grinned; it was nice to know that Blaise wasn't going to be one to make fun of her. He noticed several of the Slytherins and Gryffindors tended to do that. He knew that it was getting to her and he wondered if she'd been bullied before. He had enough experience of that because of Dudley and the Dursleys. He didn't even want to think about this summer… because that meant he would have to go back. And he still wanted to hold onto the dream that he was finally away from there.

But he knew just like any dream, you would eventually wake up. But for now, he was just going to focus on the now, or least try to. And it wasn't hard to get sucked into everything.

It had gone from listening to Hermione talk about whatever book she was reading to classwork. With Neville it had been trying to help him understand what he was doing. He was just thankful for Blaise and Hermione for that. It was nice to know he was able to help one of his friends. And Dean could be just as excited about Hogwarts as he was.

Though he didn't think anyone could match the excitement Hermione had. She was enthusiastic about everything; it could be very infectious.

Which made him hug her even harder.

They had been in Charms class learning around the Levitation Charm. Hermione had been the first to master it, which was no surprise. But she hadn't been partnered with him. He had been partnered with Neville. So, he never heard the conversation that happened or what happened after. But Dean had held him back, he had heard every word.

"Harry…" Dean's voice was shaky.

Harry watched in despair as Hermione ran out of the classroom, he never saw the tears running down her face.

"What happened?"

"She tried to correct Ron on the spell…" Dean managed.

Harry looked crestfallen, "he didn't?"

Neville even looked shocked.

"He said she was nothing but a know-it-all and that she didn't have any real friends…"

Harry looked to where Hermione had run off.

"Will she be alright?" Neville asked.

"I don't know, Nev," Harry said quietly.

Then there came a voice that Harry wasn't quite expecting.

"Harry," Fred's voice was solemn, no hint of teasing.

Harry looked up to see both Weasley twins.

"Fred…George… what's going on?"

"Your Slytherin friend found Hermione," George said.

"Blaise? Where?"

Fred nodded his head towards the hallway. "He's near the girl's lavatory. He's in the classroom beside it."

Harry looked at the twins critically, "you didn't curse him, did you?"

Fred had a hint of a smile on his lips, "You wound us…"

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

The twins nodded, "we have some spare words to have…"

Harry didn't pay much attention to what the twins meant. Though he had a really good idea…

The small Gryffindor made haste towards the classroom that Fred had mentioned. He eased the door open and could see Blaise huddling Hermione close to him.

Hermione was still crying into his shoulder, while he whispered comforting words in her ear.

When Blaise looked up at him, he almost snorted. The Slytherin had looked so out of place but was relieved to be interrupted, as if comforting a crying girl was killing him.

Harry went over to her other side and let Hermione curl into him. He clutched at her tightly.

"You know, whatever stupid thing he said, isn't true."

Hermione hiccupped, tears still falling. "But it is true…"

Harry just hugged her tighter, "Dean told me. Ron is just scared because you're so much smarter than him."

Hermione let out a choked laugh, it was a better start than the heavy tears.

"As for the friends' comment, you have me, Neville, and Dean."

Hermione nodded into Harry's chest, "thank you, Blaise. Thank you, Harry."

The Slytherin looked caught off guard at the words. He had been standing there awkwardly once Harry took his place by her side. But he couldn't find it in him to just leave. He was friends with Harry… not Granger. But he felt he had to help calm her down.

Harry laughed; he had never seen Blaise look so shocked.

Blaise just glared at him for it, which made him laugh harder.

Even Hermione managed a small smile before giggling. Though she had never expected that a Slytherin would comfort her. Despite they were the same age and Harry's friend. But he had stopped her and let her cry on his shoulder, trying to calm her down. Maybe… just maybe not all Slytherins are bad.

Harry was helping Hermione to go back to the dorm and just ignore dinner. Neither of them was in the mood to eat.

For Hermione, it was a very obvious reason why. And she was still a bit high up on hurt emotions and just wanted a place away from everyone. Though she couldn't help but feel a wave of gratitude towards Harry and his friend. And she figured if she ever got hungry, she could always ask Fred and George. They always bragged about knowing where the Hogwarts Kitchens were at.

For Harry, it was a completely different reason. He probably could have still gone to the Great Hall and grabbed some food. But that meant he would have had to witness their celebrations and he didn't want anything to do with that.

How could he? He could still remember that night and to him… he could never celebrate it. The visions were too clear in his head. They weren't much, but he could put it together what happened. Though he apparently saw more of his mother's death than his father's. But he felt that he probably gone down the same way.

The day had already felt nerve-wracking as it was. Trying to pretend that it wasn't… he wasn't sure if he could handle that. It was all a raw feeling that continuously felt unsettled. He didn't think it would ever change.

It would be on the way back to Gryffindor Tower that made Harry think about if he just had bad luck.

His face went a deathly pale at the ugliest creature he ever saw. But that wasn't the reason why his face went pale. It was the smears of blood all over the corridor and wall. There was even blood all over that creature's club. And there were two motionless girls by his feet… Did that thing use that club against them? He thought he was going to be sick.

Hermione seemed to have the same idea, because she threw up all over the floor. Her face was still pale, though slowly regaining color.

Harry clutched at her hand tightly, not wanting to let go and slowly eased themselves back. Not wanting for that thing to notice them and they be its next two victims.

It was when they were a good enough distance that Hermione harshly whispered into his ear.

"What about a teacher?"

"Hermione, do you really want to try to make it past that thing to find a professor… that all happen to be in the Great Hall?" Harry asked exasperated as he walked past the portrait.

"It's called a Mountain Troll… and not really… it's just… what's going to happen to them?"

Harry immediately felt guilty at getting annoyed with Hermione.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I know that we would have had just as much of a chance as they did."

Hermione stayed quiet at that. And she tried to put it out of her mind. She had read about them, of course she had. They were the most vicious of the trolls, though they had the tendency to be really dumb. But they were also impervious to magic and that made it hard to fight them. Though she was slightly worried about Harry.

He had wandered over to the fireplace and was staring at the fire; he wasn't even moving. And she didn't know if she should disturb him. And she wasn't dumb enough to not figure out why. And she already knew it wasn't about the troll. But that made her wonder if her friend actually remembered them. She wasn't brave enough to ask him and it seemed almost rude if she did. It seemed insensitive to just ask someone if they remembered their dead parents. And so, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Harry?" her voice was soft.

Harry glanced back at her; eyes wet.

"Its okay to miss them," she sat beside him.

"How can you miss someone you truly never knew…" Harry's voice was low.

"But you did…" Hermione protested, giving him a tight hug.

Harry sighed, but didn't try to debate the matter. He himself didn't know why this should still be affecting him this much. The ordeal about the troll, already leaving his mind. They had died when he was a year old. It wasn't like he had years and years to get to know his parents. They were more of a foreign concept to him. But he could still feel that longing to know of their touch again. To feel the love that they had for him.

He had the briefest memory of his mother holding him close in her arms. He had never remembered being held. Petunia always believed that he could spread his freakishness to her and her family. But his mother had done so, and it had felt so real. He couldn't help but want it again. He liked to imagine that his dad probably held him too. He remembered his kind hazel looking at him, like they were proud of something. It didn't make much sense to him.

Harry wiped the stray tear away… it was just a stupid child fantasy. But the thought wouldn't erase the longing.

And he knew these were real memories of his. Just like the memory of the flying bike and flash of green. Some of them… he wished he never had. Like his mother screaming… That tended to haunt him in his nightmares at times. But as he aged, the more he seemed to remember. Some of them good… some of them bad...

But Hermione just held him, she didn't speak again. Just held him as he thought and thought. As if knowing what he was thinking.

And Harry was glad for the silence, it meant more than the attempted words of comfort. And like where he had comforted her, he was receiving the same treatment. And he couldn't help but appreciate it.

At least until it was broken several hours later. He had honestly lost track of time.

There were hectic screams as prefects were trying to remain control. Most of them because of the fact he already knew, a troll was in the castle.

Harry and Hermione almost went to their respectful dorms to escape the noise. If not for one thing… Professor McGonagall.

She looked as stern as ever, but this time she had news.

"I will need all of you to remain calm, the troll is dead—"

There were yells of relief.

"Silence!" she yelled.

She waited until the tower was quiet again.

"Now, that I have your attention once more. I must reveal some bad news. One of your own has perished. As have some from Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I will not tolerate hearing any bad words against your fellow schoolmates. If I do… you will be serving detention with me for the rest of the year. Myself and your professors will be investigating how this tragedy happened. But I bid you all to get some sleep."

Harry shared a look with Hermione. They knew of two that had likely died. But to know there had been more and who? There was some small comfort to know it was dead and couldn't do anymore harm. Had someone let it in and if they did, then who? It wasn't the most pleasing thing to think about… Because that would mean… someone wanted students to die. And Harry and Hermione could have easily been in that number count.