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Since the Slytherin duel, the young snakes had finally reined themselves in. They no longer looked down on others every day, and the atmosphere in the school felt lighter.
Aiden, meanwhile, found his days packed and fulfilling. In addition to his regular classes, he had to attend detentions, work on spell development, and study runes.
[Ding, you mean he also has to attend private tutoring, private tutoring, and private tutoring.]
[Narrator: Ahem, shut up.]
Elsewhere, the arrival of the daily post brought startling news. An owl delivered word of a break-in at Gringotts. Harry, putting this together with what he had seen in the third-floor corridor, began to suspect what the Cerberus was guarding. Still, he did not dwell on it. After all, who could possibly cause trouble under Dumbledore's nose?
***
Time sped by, and soon Halloween arrived. That afternoon, Hagrid was hauling pumpkins to the castle for the evening feast.
"Hi, Hagrid, let me help you," Aiden called out as he spotted Hagrid struggling with a cart.
Aiden lifted his wand and cast a Levitation Charm, sending the pumpkins floating gently towards the castle.
"Oh, Aiden, thank you so much. You know they don't let me use magic," Hagrid said, quickly hiding his pink umbrella.
With a bit of effort (and a fair bit of magic), the two of them finished decorating the Great Hall. Huge black bats hung from the ceiling, their wings occasionally fluttering as if they might swoop down at any moment. Spiderwebs draped the walls, with spiders scurrying along the silvery threads. The flickering candle flames cast an eerie glow over everything. Pumpkins carved into terrifying faces sat in every corner, their eyes glowing with orange light.
That night, the young wizards of Hogwarts gathered in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. Aiden forked a piece of steak covered in black pepper sauce and took a bite, enjoying the festive atmosphere.
Suddenly, Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and his face white as a sheet. He ran up to the teachers' table, grabbed it for support, and gasped.
"There's a troll in the dungeons. I thought you ought to know."
With that, Quirrell collapsed in a heap on the floor.
That acting is way too fake, Aiden thought as he sipped his lemonade.
A wave of panic swept through the hall as the students jumped to their feet, shouting in confusion.
"Silence." Dumbledore's voice, amplified by a Sonorus Charm, echoed through the hall. Instantly, everyone fell quiet.
"Prefects, listen," he commanded. "Lead your housemates back to your dormitories at once!"
The students quickly gathered around their prefects and began to file out in an orderly fashion.
Harry and Ron spotted Snape moving quickly through the crowd.
"Look, Snape's in a hurry. He must have let the troll in," Harry whispered to Ron.
"We should stop him," Ron said, and the two of them slipped away from the group.
Hermione, walking at the back, noticed Harry and Ron sneaking off. After a moment's hesitation, she hurried after them.
Aiden was following Prefect Eleanor Hawthorne back to Ravenclaw when a silver light slipped down from the ceiling and hovered beside him. Dumbledore's voice, carried by the light, spoke softly in Aiden's ear.
"Aiden, Ron and the others have gone to face the troll. Do you want to join this adventure?"
Oh, Ron, you silly boy. Aiden sighed, flicked his fingers, and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself before quietly leaving the group.
***
In the basement, Harry and Ron jogged to the corridor outside the girls' bathroom.
"You shouldn't be here. Dumbledore told us to go back to the tower," Hermione said, appearing behind them and making both boys jump.
"Why are you only telling us off? You came too," Ron shot back.
"Alright, keep it down," Harry said, trying to focus.
Suddenly, a foul stench filled the air. Heavy footsteps echoed from both directions, and a low, guttural sound rumbled through the corridor.
The three of them were surrounded by trolls.
The massive creatures lumbered forward, dragging heavy clubs behind them.
"Three!" Hermione shrieked, her voice trembling with terror.
"Go left, there's only one!" Harry shouted. He snatched up a stone and hurled it at the nearest troll.
Ron waved his wand, desperately trying every spell he could remember, but nothing worked.
Seeing the danger, Harry leapt onto the troll's back, clinging to its neck and jamming his wand up the creature's nose.
Tsk, that wand is useless now, Aiden thought, watching from the shadows under his Disillusionment Charm.
Hermione stood frozen in fear. Aiden quietly cast a suggestion on her, snapping her out of her daze. She pulled out her wand and fired a spell at the troll.
Aiden watched the three of them working together to hold off one troll, then turned his attention to the other two. The remaining trolls watched the fight, dumb and motionless. Thankfully, trolls had tiny brains and no instinct for teamwork, or Harry and his friends would have been finished.
Aiden studied the two trolls. They had powerful bodies, magic-resistant skin, and dull, wild eyes.
Giant pathway? The thought flashed through Aiden's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. These trolls didn't show any real magical abilities.
While Aiden was lost in thought, Harry and the others were reaching the climax of their struggle.
It's taking too long. Time to try out my latest creation, Aiden decided.
He brought his hands together, fingertips touching, palms hollow. Magic gathered in the centre, and the suggestive power of his sequence flowed into the spell.
"Dance a ballet. Tarantallegra."
The spell struck the two trolls, and the idea of dancing ballet was forced into their minds. Under the moonlight, the two trolls began to twirl and leap clumsily down the corridor. The sight was both hilarious and disturbing.
Well, this move still needs improvement. Directly writing a spell into the brain can be resisted, Aiden concluded after sensing the trolls' reactions.
Meanwhile, Ron finally managed to cast the Levitation Charm under Hermione's guidance. The troll's club floated up, then crashed down on its own head, knocking the creature out cold.
Ron's magic output is even stronger than Hermione's. Is that the Weasley bloodline at work? Aiden wondered as he watched.
No, maybe it's not just Weasley. With so many pure-blood intermarriages, Ron must have inherited a mix of magical talents. He's got potential. I should plan some training for him in the future.
Aiden grinned, already plotting Ron's magical education.
As Harry and his friends caught their breath, several powerful magical auras approached. Professor McGonagall was coming. Not wanting to get caught in her wrath, Aiden slipped away, leaving the others to face the music.
A moment later, Professor McGonagall arrived first, followed by Snape and finally Quirrell. Snape eyed the two dancing trolls with curiosity. Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and both trolls sank into the floor as if swallowed by quicksand. Then she turned to the three students, her lips pressed white with anger.
"What on earth were you thinking?" Professor McGonagall demanded, her voice trembling with fury.
"You were lucky not to be killed! Why weren't you in your dormitories?"
Hermione stepped forward and took responsibility. In the end, the three of them were let off with no point deductions, their bravery balancing out their recklessness. Harry, ever observant, noticed the wound on Snape's leg as they left the basement.
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