Harry decided that he really didn't like history very much. Mr. Lupin had brought home several history books to help teach Harry about Merlin and magic and the Goblin Wars, but as much as Harry tried to pay attention and remember some of the things that Mr. Lupin was saying, his head just couldn't seem to hold any of the information and his mind kept wandering off to other places. How cold was it outside? Where was Draco, or Neville? Since it was Halloween, would there be anything special at dinner? Harry squirmed in his seat to try to find a more comfortable spot, his fingers pulling at the edge of his jumper.

"Is there something wrong, Harry?" Mr. Lupin asked.

"No," Harry answered quickly and immediately tried to sit as still as possible. Mr. Lupin had come back from his business trip a week ago and although Harry was beginning to be comfortable with him, he still didn't know if admitting that he didn't like history would get him into trouble.

"Let me guess," Mr. Lupin said as he touched Harry's hands, gently pulling Harry's fingers away from his jumper. His hands were different from Uncle Sev's, rougher and broader, but with shorter fingers. "You're bored and want to go outside."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "How…how did you know?"

Mr. Lupin laughed. "There is almost no one who enjoys history when it's just lectures and memorization." He took Harry's hand and pulled him out of his chair. "Come on, let's go for a walk. I'll talk to Severus tonight about shortening your history lessons, and maybe finding a way to make them more interesting."

The hallways were quiet as Harry and Mr. Lupin walked to the main entrance. Mr. Lupin described the history classes with Binns teaching and Harry was laughing at the thought of using the class to nap.

"How did anyone learn history if everyone was asleep?" Harry asked.

Mr. Lupin chuckled. "There was always someone who was able to stay awake and take notes. Most of us managed a barely passable grade, but I don't think there were more than a few that passed their O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s in history."

Harry was confused. "Why do they keep him as a teacher if he's so bad?"

A long silence followed and Harry was thinking that Mr. Lupin wasn't going to answer. "I really have no idea," he said finally.

As they came into the large open space, the bell to end the current class rang and the space was suddenly filled with students. Mr. Lupin placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to stop him from walking into the crowd. "Wait for it to clear out a bit," he said.

Harry nodded, but was distracted by the sound of Ron speaking to someone close to him. Harry hadn't heard his voice in weeks, but still recognized the childish, petulant tone. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he was saying. "She's a nightmare, really."

Harry turned to ask Mr. Lupin who Ron was talking about when someone abruptly ran into him and knocked him over. Harry tumbled to the ground with whoever it was on top of him. Harry put out his arms to shove whoever it was away, but the sound of crying stopped him.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked the unknown person as he felt Mr. Lupin's hands on his arms as he helped Harry to stand.

The only answer to Harry's question was a sniffling sound. He put out a hand and found that it was a girl standing very close to him as he wound up with a handful of hair. He put an awkward arm around her shoulders. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Her…Hermione," the girl said with a sniffle.

Harry felt Mr. Lupin kneel down in front of them. "Was it you that boy was talking about?" Mr. Lupin asked, his voice low and kind.

"Yes," she said, then turned and planted her face in Harry's shoulder. "No one likes me!" she wailed.

Mr. Lupin shifted next to Harry. "I'm sure that's not true," he said.

"Everyone thinks I'm a know…know-it-all!" Ah, Harry thought. This was the girl from the train, who had been helping to look for Neville's frog.

"What about Neville?" Harry asked. "He seemed to like you when you were on the train."

"I…I was just helping him," Hermione hiccupped. "We really don't speak."

Mr. Lupin stood and started leading Harry, who still had his arm around Hermione, toward the dungeons. "Let's go back to the rooms," he said. "We can talk about this there."

~HPSSHPSS~

Severus found Harry, Lupin and a first year Gryffindor…Hermione Granger, in his sitting room when he returned after the last class of the morning. Harry and Miss Granger had their heads together over one of his Braille books and Lupin was sitting in the armchair across from Severus's.

"Miss Granger," Severus said. "Why aren't you in class?"

Harry pushed his book away and stood up from the sofa, pulling Hermione up behind him. "Ron was being mean to her," he declared.

"And?" Severus said, stealing a glance at Lupin, who looked amused. Hermione fidgeted as if she wanted to blurt something out, but managed to hold it back.

"She was upset," Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest as if to protect himself. "I…I brought her back here to cheer her up."

Lupin started to speak, but Severus stopped him with a sharp look. "Why were you out in halls, Evan?"

Harry shuffled his feet and hunched his shoulders, muttering something indistinguishable.

"Say it so that I can understand you, Evan," Severus said.

"I was bored," Harry said, his face pointed to the floor. "I didn't like history, so Mr. Lupin took me out for a walk." He drew in a breath. "Ron said some horrible things about Hermione, and then she ran into me."

"I'm sorry sir," Hermione said quickly. "I knocked Evan over, trying to get away from Ron."

"Miss Granger," Severus said, barely succeeding in holding back a sneer. "What happened that led Mr. Weasley to insult you?"

Hermione blushed. "I was trying to help him in Charms. He wasn't pronouncing the Wingardium Leviosa spell correctly and he didn't want me telling him what he was doing wrong."

Harry looked confused. "Wait a minute," he said to Hermione. "Draco taught me that spell weeks ago. Are you saying that you're only just now learning it?"

"Well, yes," Hermione said, looking thoughtful. "Maybe Professor Flitwick teaches different spells in each of his classes at different times."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. I'll ask Draco later."

"What did Mr. Weasley say?" Severus interrupted.

Harry frowned. "He said that it was no wonder that no one could stand her. That she was a nightmare."

Hermione looked at the floor, blinking rapidly. "I just wanted to help," she said softly.

"You can't help someone who doesn't wish to be assisted," Severus said. Harry gave a slight jerk of his head at the words and Severus wondered what that was about.

Hermione was nodding, a solemn look on her face. "Yes, sir," she said quietly. "I do understand that, but sometimes I get…enthusiastic."

Severus smirked at her. "Only sometimes?"

Hermione shrugged with a helpless giggle, and Severus marveled at the horrified look on Harry's face.

Lupin got to his feet. "Now that that's settled, shall we head to lunch?"

~HPSSHPSS~

Draco was not happy that a Gryffindor sat with Harry at the Slytherin table for lunch. He was even more upset that she sat there again at dinner. He was going to have to speak to Harry about the proper places for Gryffindors, which was not at the Slytherin table. Even Neville Longbottom knew better than to sit here.

Harry was just pulling his plate to him after Draco had filled it when the doors to the Great Hall burst open. Quirrell stumbled into the room and ran up to the head table, stopping in front of the headmaster.

"Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know," he said without even the hint of a stutter and then fell to the floor, banging his head on the head table on his way down.

Draco grasped Harry's arm as students throughout the hall started shrieking. When Harry flinched at the noise, Draco cast a silencing spell around the two of them. He watched as Dumbledore set off some firecrackers, then said something that seemed to calm everyone down. Soon the prefects were herding students out of the hall.

Draco dropped the silencing spell and turned to Hermione. "Are you going with your house?" he asked.

"Yes," Hermione said as she gathered up her book bag. Harry stood up next to her.

"Be careful," he said. "Come and see me if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Evan," she replied, then sprinted after her housemates.

Draco looked around for Uncle Sev, but didn't see him anywhere. One of the prefects was leading the first years out of the hall and he pulled Harry after them.

"Everyone is leaving," he explained. "We don't want to be left behind."

Harry wrapped his hand around Draco's arm. "Lead the way," he said, not objecting as Draco set off at a quick pace. Draco tried to keep up with the prefect, but soon lost sight of all the other students.

"Draco," Harry asked after they had started down the first set of stairs, "Why did they send us to the dungeons if that was where the troll was supposed to be?"

Draco stopped suddenly and Harry stumbled into him. "That is a very good question," he said. "I don't know." Draco looked around and found that the hallway was empty. Pulling Harry into an alcove behind a suit of armor, he said quietly. "There's no one here."

"You were slowed down because of me," Harry said with a frown.

"Stop that," Draco said, shaking Harry slightly. "It's not your fault."

They leaned against the wall of the alcove for a moment, listening for the sounds of anyone coming their way.

"How would a troll get into the castle in the first place?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I have no idea," Draco said, peering around edge of the alcove. "Peeves might have let it in as a joke."

"Who's Peeves?"

Draco looked at Harry in amazement. "I forgot you wouldn't know about the ghosts and such. Peeves is a poltergeist. He likes to play tricks on the students."

"Would he be able to let in a troll?" Harry asked. "I always thought that ghosts couldn't touch things."

"Peeves can," Draco replied, making sure one last time that there was no troll in sight before pulling Harry out of the alcove and moving towards their rooms. "I heard Professor McGonagall say that Peeves is not a real ghost, but a manifestation."

Harry looked confused. "How's that different?"

Draco pulled them close to the wall as they approached a corner. He waited for a moment then turned to Harry. "Put your hands on my shoulders and stay behind me."

"Be careful," Harry said, following Draco's directions.

As Draco turned the corner, he abruptly ran into someone coming from the opposite direction. With a high-pitched cry that Draco would vociferously deny later on, he fell back into Harry, knocking the both of them to the floor.

Harry breathing quickened as he pushed Draco off. "No, no!" he cried, scrambling to his feet and waving his arms about in panic. "Draco!"

Draco looked up from the floor to see Uncle Sev striding over to Harry and grasping his arms. "Stop, Evan! You are safe. Draco is safe. Stop!"

It took a minute, but Harry finally subsided, his arms dropping to his side. "Uncle Sev?" he whispered.

"Yes," Uncle Sev said, pulling Harry's hand to the crook of his elbow.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought the troll had got to Draco."

"I'm right here, Evan," Draco said, climbing shakily to his feet. He stood on the other side of Harry and grasped his hand.

Harry tried to smile, but failed miserably. "That's the second time today that someone has run into me and I've wound up on the floor." Draco squeezed his hand in reassurance.

When they started walking towards their rooms, Draco noticed that Uncle Sev was limping.

"Are you all right, Uncle Sev?" he asked.

"Perfectly," Uncle Sev snapped. "Poppy will look at it later."

Draco eyed him with suspicion, but kept his mouth closed.

"Where's the troll?" Harry asked. His knuckles were white where they gripped Uncle Sev's arm.

"He's been taken care of," Uncle Sev said. "There's nothing for you to worry about."

When they arrived home they found Mr. Lupin slumped in front of the fire, his head laid against the back of the chair and his robes torn. As Uncle Sev closed the door, he cracked an eye open. "You found them, I see," he said gruffly.

"They were left behind by their housemates," Severus growled in return, striding over to the fireplace and throwing in a pinch of Floo powder. "Poppy!" he called. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey was exiting the fireplace.

"What were you thinking, Remus?" she scolded as she handed him a vial of pain potion, then pushed the ruined robes off his shoulder, exposing an obviously dislocated shoulder and a huge bruise traveling down the front of his chest. "Taking on a mountain troll by yourself?"

"It really wasn't my idea, Poppy," Mr. Lupin replied after he had drunk the potion. He sighed as she smoothed the numbing salve over his shoulder. "He was heading for the girls' bathroom and who knew if there was anyone in there? I couldn't chance it."

Poppy looked over at Uncle Sev and he moved behind Mr. Lupin as Poppy grasped his arm and pushed the dislocated shoulder back into place. Mr. Lupin winced, then let his head fall back again.

"Rest for tomorrow, then come to see me Saturday morning." She glared at Mr. Lupin until he nodded his assent. Then she turned to Uncle Sev. "Make sure he gets another pain potion tonight and rub plenty of bruise salve on him several times tomorrow."

Uncle Sev sneered and looked like he was going to refuse, but finally agreed to do it.

"Now, Severus," Poppy said imperiously. "Sit down and let me look at your leg."

"It's nothing," Uncle Sev said, not moving from his spot. "It will heal on its own."

"Sit down, Severus, or I will Stupefy you and haul you to the infirmary myself."

Draco snickered as Uncle Sev sat, drawing his eyes to the two boys. "Go to your room," he said with a scowl.

"But, it's early!" Draco whined.

"Out," Uncle Sev said, his voice uncompromising. "Go amuse yourselves somewhere else, or I'll send you to bed."

With an aggrieved sigh, Draco led Harry into the bedroom.

~HPSSHPSS~

"Why do you suppose Uncle Sev's leg is hurt?" Harry whispered to Draco as they sat on the floor with the charmed playing cards.

"The troll must have done it," Draco replied.

"No, Madam Pomfrey said Mr. Lupin was alone when he fought the troll." Harry's voice dropped even further. "Do you think he was attacked?"

"Who would attack him, Harry?"

Harry thought about it. "Your father?"

There was a pause of silence. "I suppose it could have been," Draco said slowly. "But why now? Why not right after Uncle Sev had the guardianship papers filed?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm worried about Uncle Sev. What if someone hurts him really badly and he can't get to Madam Pomfrey for help?"

"Harry," Draco said. "Don't worry about it. Uncle Sev is an adult and he can take care of himself."

"I suppose," Harry said reluctantly, but in the back of his mind was the thought that if something terrible happened to Uncle Sev, Harry would wind up back at the Dursleys'. Harry's wasn't going to allow that to happen under any circumstances, so he was going to have to pay closer attention to Uncle Sev. He didn't quite know how he was going to accomplish this feat, but he'd figure it out one way or another.

Harry forced his mind away from Uncle Sev and back to Draco. "Hermione told me that her class was only learning the Wingardium Leviosa spell today," he said as he felt the ridges on the cards for the next one to play. "Do you think that Professor Flitwick teaches different spells to the different classes?"

Harry heard Draco hitch in a breath. "No," Draco said. "He taught it to us today also."

"Then why did you tell me that you learned it weeks ago?" Harry asked, trying not to be upset that Draco had lied to him.

"I already knew how to do it and Professor Flitwick had mentioned in class that day that it was one of the spells we'd be learning." Draco paused for a moment. "I wanted to help you learn something magic and it was the only spell I could think of that was easy enough and had a way for you to know if it worked."

Harry nodded as he placed a card down. "Okay, but don't lie to me again. I don't like it."

Harry felt Draco's hand on his. "I'm sorry," he said. "I can't promise that it will never happen again, but I'll do my best not to."

Harry gripped Draco's hand briefly. "Play your card," he said.