As Kirk and Cedric turned towards the door in surprise, Wentworth's voice echoed through the Great Hall, filling their minds with confusion—until Professor Quirrell stumbled inside, his face pale, shouting:
"Troll! In the dungeons… thought you ought to know…"
With that, Professor Quirrell collapsed to the ground.
Instantly, the Great Hall erupted into chaos. Fear spread among the students like wildfire.
Wentworth, however, merely shook his head with a helpless smile, remaining seated without moving an inch.
Cedric, eyes wide with alarm, leaned in and whispered urgently, "Wentworth, didn't you hear? There's a troll inside the castle!"
Wentworth gestured for him to quiet down, then pointed toward the staff table.
"I heard, I heard. It's just one troll! Unless there's a whole troll army marching in, any one of those old codgers up there could deal with it single-handedly—if the troll has any brains, it should be the one afraid."
Sure enough, Professor Dumbledore stood, his voice commanding as he called out:
"Silence! Everyone, remain calm!"
The panic slowly subsided as the sight of Dumbledore's tall figure reassured the students. The headmaster continued, "Prefects will lead their houses back to their dormitories. Teachers, follow me to the dungeons!"
Wentworth clapped Kirk on the shoulder. "Right then, time to get to work. Remember what I told you."
Kirk nodded, striding to the front of the Hufflepuff table and calling out, "Hufflepuffs, follow me!"
Wentworth and Cedric deliberately hung back at the rear of the line.
Soon enough, Wentworth spotted Harry and Ron slipping away from the Gryffindor line, heading towards the dungeons—a development Wentworth had fully anticipated.
Everything was playing out just like the original story.
Or so he thought.
What Wentworth hadn't expected was Draco Malfoy breaking away from the Slytherin ranks to follow Harry and Ron.
Wentworth smacked his forehead. "That's what I get for making Harry and Draco friends—causing trouble for myself. Serves me right."
Despite his grumbling, Wentworth's worry got the better of him. Grabbing Cedric's arm, he quietly set off after them.
Unbeknownst to him, another pair of eyes had noticed his departure and followed silently behind.
Ahead of them, Draco quickly caught up to Harry and Ron, exclaiming, "What do you think you're doing? Fighting a troll? You're both absolutely mental! Ron, I always knew you were an idiot, but I didn't think you lacked any self-preservation! If you want to get yourself killed, fine—but leave Harry out of it!"
He seized Harry's arm, trying to pull him back.
"Wait, Draco—Hermione's still in the girls' bathroom! She doesn't know about the troll. She's in danger!" Harry pleaded.
"That's the professors' job, not ours!" Draco snapped, refusing to let go.
The three boys stood locked in a stalemate—until Wentworth's voice rang out behind them.
"What on earth are you lot doing?"
They spun around, startled.
"Wentworth!" Draco brightened. "Talk some sense into them! They're trying to take on a troll!"
Harry's face lit up with hope. "Wentworth, please! Hermione's in trouble—we have to help her!"
Wentworth glanced between the three boys, already calculating the best course of action.
He certainly wasn't about to send Harry away—not when this was the perfect opportunity to curry favor with Snape.
"First," Wentworth said coolly, "let go of each other. Two boys grappling like that—what would people think?"
Harry and Draco hastily released their grips.
"Good. Now we'll all go together."
Harry's face brightened. Draco's fell.
"You're not scared, are you, Draco?" Ron goaded.
Draco bristled. "Scared? Of course not! Besides, we've got Wentworth and Cedric."
Wentworth ignored the bickering, breaking into a run toward the dungeons. Cedric followed without question. Harry sprinted after them, and after exchanging glares, Draco and Ron reluctantly followed.
As they entered the lower corridors, a piercing scream echoed from the girls' bathroom.
Hermione.
Wentworth quickened his pace, skidding to a halt at the entrance—just in time to see the mountain troll smash through a row of stalls with its massive club.
The room was in shambles. Hermione stood frozen, her terrified eyes locked on the hulking creature.
"Help! Someone, please!"
Cedric raised his wand, but Wentworth caught his wrist.
"Wait."
One brush with rewriting the story's timeline had been enough for one night. It was better to let events unfold as they were meant to.
But as Wentworth watched, Harry and Ron… bent down to grab chunks of wood and stone from the rubble.
Wentworth's eye twitched.
You're wizards! Wizards! What are your wands for?!
Fortunately, there was still one wizard among them who remembered how to use magic.
"Levicorpus!"
Wentworth whipped around to see Draco, wand raised, casting the spell with practiced ease.
The troll's feet jerked off the ground as the spell took hold, dangling it upside down with a dull roar.
Wentworth's lips twitched into a smile.
At least someone was following the script.
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