Ron shrieked, covering his face, "You killed a troll?!"
Harry looked around at everyone, seeing that no one else seemed to be paying attention to Ron, and said, "No, Hermione knocked the troll out." He paused, then unconsciously added, "With the Levitation Charm."
The reason for their conflict in the Charms classroom earlier was Hermione trying to teach Ron how to properly use the Levitation Charm, but her "instructive" tone had only annoyed Ron further.
"—Hermione?" Ron was indeed surprised, muttering, "How—how is that possible? That's... that's a troll!"
Hermione let out a forceful "hmph." She gripped her wand, both excited and terrified, staring at the motionless creature on the ground, as if something in her bloodline had awakened.
Padma peeked out from behind Wade and quietly asked, "Is the troll dead?"
"No," Wade said, watching the troll's chest rise and fall slightly. "Just knocked out."
"Oh—that's good then." Padma patted her chest.
Suddenly, there was a flurry of footsteps—Professor McGonagall rushed in first, her face ashen; she was closely followed by Professor Snape, his black robes billowing behind him; then Professor Flitwick, who, despite his small stature, ran incredibly fast but still couldn't catch up to the first two; finally, Professor Quirrell appeared. The moment he saw the troll's calloused foot, he clutched his chest and let out a sob, looking as if he was about to faint.
Snape quickly glanced at Harry, who was standing dumbfounded to the side, then bent down to examine the troll. Professor Flitwick piped up in his uniquely high-pitched voice, "Oh, Merlin! Children, are you alright?"
"We're fine, Professor!" Michael said excitedly. "Aside from almost being sick from the troll's stench."
Professor Flitwick happily patted his arm and praised loudly, "Well done! First-years—defeated a troll! I dare say not many people could do that! How did you defeat this big fellow?"
"Hahaha, it was a team effort," Michael tried to pull back his wide grin, speaking as modestly and seriously as possible. "Potter rushed out and attracted its attention—"
Professor Snape immediately glared at Harry with an intimidating gaze. Harry quickly lowered his head, wishing Michael had never mentioned him. Beside him, Ron looked on with envy.
"We all distracted it together with a flock of birds, and then Wade used a spell—"
Michael forgot the spell and turned to look at Wade.
"Slippery Slope," Wade said.
"Right—Slippery Slope, which made the troll fall," Michael continued. "Finally, Hermione used the Levitation Charm to knock it out."
Professor Flitwick clapped and exclaimed, "Excellent teamwork! Simply marvelous! Achieving such a great result with simple spells, I'm giving each of you five points!"
"Filius!"
Professor McGonagall shouted. Her unprecedentedly stern tone made Professor Flitwick, who had been happily gesticulating, shrink back, quietly close his mouth, and stand to the side.
The green-robed witch swept her icy gaze over everyone. Every student who met her eyes instinctively lowered their head, including Wade.
"Trolls are extremely dangerous creatures, and countless adult wizards have been killed by them! The moment you encountered it, you should have immediately fled and found a professor to handle it! Consider yourselves lucky this time that it didn't kill you!—Miss Granger!"
Hermione flinched.
Professor McGonagall looked at the girl's brown head and asked, "I recall you took leave this afternoon because you weren't feeling well. Why are you here?"
"I..." Hermione likely hadn't lied to a teacher before. Now, questioned face-to-face, her mind was a mess, and she stammered, "I thought—I read about trolls in a book, I thought—"
Wade grabbed the girl's shoulder and pushed her aside—This silly girl couldn't possibly be trying to say she thought she could fight a troll, so she secretly came to challenge it, could she? That excuse is so stupid even a troll wouldn't believe it.
Even if they don't believe it, what if someone blames them for the troll breaking into the castle? Don't think something like this won't happen. Wade remembered Harry was misunderstood by his schoolmates more than once or twice in the original story.
"She felt better in the evening and didn't want to miss dinner. We were originally going to the Great Hall together," Wade said calmly. "Passing through here, Hermione and Padma went to the restroom. Michael and I waited for a while, and when we left, we encountered the troll. We really should have fled immediately, but it happened so suddenly, everyone was stunned and didn't react. Luckily, Harry Potter distracted the troll and alerted us."
The professors looked at Harry again. The boy's face turned beet red; he felt that he didn't deserve such high praise.
Michael thoughtfully glanced at Wade, understanding something, and added, "Yes, he threw a bucket at the troll's head and yelled for us to run—it was really brave."
Professor Snape: "—A bucket?"
Harry stared at the ground, feeling like Professor Snape's gaze was flaying him alive—he now suspected these two Ravenclaws were praising him so much just to divert the professors' attention.
"And what about you, Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall turned to Ron. "Why aren't you back in your dormitory like you're supposed to be?"
Ron had just been thinking about how he should have been with Harry, becoming the hero who saved everyone, and most importantly, making that haughty Granger look up to him. Now, suddenly called out by Professor McGonagall, he was speechless, forgetting what he was supposed to say.
Professor McGonagall's gaze grew sharper.
Harry could only stand up for his good friend, gathering his courage to say, "Ron was warning us about the troll—"
"Yes, we all heard him!" Professor Snape suddenly sneered, mocking, "Shouting loudly in the corridor, as if afraid the troll couldn't find him—I imagine your books should mention that trolls have keener hearing? Oh—Mr. Weasley's textbook probably hasn't even been opened, has it? Just like our savior—Mr. Harry Potter attracting the troll's attention with a bucket—ha, a bucket?! I truly hope you haven't forgotten you're a wizard!"
The Gryffindor duo's ears turned red with shame and anger.
Michael silently gave Wade a thumbs-up in his mind—if they hadn't propped up Harry Potter, they might have been the ones being ridiculed now. He didn't know that Snape's obsession with Harry was permanent, unwavering. Even if there were a thousand people here, he would only see Harry Potter.
But with Professor Snape speaking up, Professor McGonagall's anger seemed to subside. She mused, "Since there are extenuating circumstances, I won't deduct any additional points from you. I will inform Professor Dumbledore about this. Now, all of you, hurry back to your common rooms—the students are all enjoying their Halloween feast in their own houses!"
Everyone quickly left. Once they were out of the professors' sight, someone suddenly chuckled, and then one by one, they all started laughing.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read ***+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский
Or Translate for free at : https:// randomtranslator.com/translate
Join our Discord: https:// discord.com/invite/XXUR9nkjwa
-----------