As the sweet scent of roasted pumpkin filled the castle, Hermione reluctantly asked, "Do we really have to go find Professor Quirrell's Halloween surprise, Ivy?"
"Of course," Ivy replied, not looking back, keeping an eye on every corner of the corridor.
"But that's Professor Quirrell," Hermione said, clutching the Elemental Orb in her arms. Since she wasn't great at handling flying broomsticks, she had no more luck controlling the Elemental Orbs, which worked on the same principle as brooms. Unlike Ivy, she couldn't make them hover and spin around her with ease.
Seeing Ivy turn his head, Hermione continued explaining, "Although it's not right to talk behind a professor's back, Professor Quirrell does seem harmless. If only he could prepare some 'surprises' for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
It seemed that Quirrell's disguise was successful, as these first-year students had no clue about his true identity.
"Don't worry," Ivy reassured, "I've already arranged for the kitchen to leave some food for us. At least I can make sure you won't go to sleep on an empty stomach."
"Alright," Hermione replied weakly, glancing back at the noise behind her. She knew it came from the direction of the Great Hall, which, just like at the start-of-term feast, must now be decorated to match the Halloween atmosphere.
But at this moment, she only saw cold, empty walls and vacant picture frames—even the portraits had gathered for their own celebration.
Walking alone down the empty, echoing hallways made Hermione feel like she had entered a completely isolated world.
Maybe I should find somewhere to have a good cry instead of trailing behind Ivy looking for Halloween surprises…
She secretly glanced at Ivy, and his handsome face did help soothe her emotions a little.
It's not so bad now. I'm not completely without friends! Ivy will help! Honestly, he is a charming guy...
Hermione's emotions were a mix of frustration and some secret delight.
But he's a Slytherin, maybe he'll even use some dark magic... Oh, I must stop him from becoming a dark wizard, for the sake of my friends!
The little witch's emotions were like a rollercoaster, and she wasn't sure where it would go next. She followed Ivy closely, but her mind was full of different thoughts.
Somehow, the sweet aroma that had filled the castle was gone, replaced by an unexplainable stench, like a mixture of her father's stinky socks and a neglected public toilet.
"Uh... Did the toilets leak somewhere?" Hermione looked around, trying to find a more polite way to phrase it.
"This means we're on the right track," Ivy said.
"What?" Hermione pinched her nose. "This is Quirrell's surprise? He's a professor, not someone like Fred and George who would play around with poop in the hallway!"
"Oh." Ivy cast a Bubble-Head Charm on both of them to block the stench. "It's probably not just any ordinary poop, but a moving mountain of it."
Hermione clearly didn't understand, but she looked visibly alarmed.
Ivy pushed her gently and made her turn the next corner by herself.
The sight in front of her made her take a deep breath—a monster the size of a small hill was standing in the middle of the corridor.
It was twelve feet tall, with dull, gray skin like granite. Its enormous, clumsy body looked like a pile of huge rubble, topped with a small cocoa-bean-shaped head. Its short legs were as thick as tree stumps, and below them were flat, hard, calloused feet. It held a large wooden stick in its hands, and due to its long arms, the stick dragged on the ground.
"A troll! Quirrell's Halloween surprise is a troll!" Hermione cried in fear, but when she turned around, she found that Ivy had already disappeared.
"Boom!" A burst of sparks erupted in the middle of the corridor, catching the attention of the only two creatures present.
Hermione swallowed hard, preparing for a scream at any moment.
The troll awkwardly turned around, locking eyes with the stiff little witch.
"Ah—!" Hermione screamed without thinking, and the sound wave made the bubble around her head shake irregularly before it popped.
"Ugh—bleh..." The intense stench forced Hermione's scream back into her stomach, and she bent over, gagging uncontrollably.
The high-pitched scream and the echo in the corridor undoubtedly angered the foolish troll. It stomped its huge feet, swinging the wooden stick toward Hermione.
The stick collided with the wall, sending shards of stone and paint scattering. But this noise made Hermione realize that she was in a very dangerous situation.
She had barely lifted her head when the gray troll was already almost on top of her.
Without thinking, Hermione raised the Fire Element Orb in her hands and screamed with all her might: "Fire Ball!"
A massive fireball shot out from the orb and collided with the troll in front of her.
The intense flash of fire was followed by an explosion shockwave. The entire corridor was ignited, only to be doused by the troll's flying blood and flesh. Everywhere, charred, tragic remains littered the floor. Picture frames and paint were completely ruined, and even the metal armor at the end of the corridor was left in pieces.
Hermione was also thrown far away, landing with a crash.
She blinked, getting up from the floor in shock, surprised to find she wasn't injured, not even a singed hair. Except for the stench from the troll's body, but in the midst of the flames, its foul smell had turned into the stench of burnt flesh.
Staring at the ruined corridor, it took her a while to close her mouth.
The Elemental Orb in her hands had lost its warm red glow and had turned into a pitch-black crystal ball. Hermione held it up in front of her, and after a long pause, she finally realized that the culprit for all of this was the harmless-looking orb.
"Ivy!" Hermione screamed.
"At your service, Miss." Ivy appeared in front of her again, giving a knightly bow with exaggerated flair.
"Look at what you've done!" Hermione looked at him like a mother lion.
"No, I need to correct you, this was your 'doing.'" Ivy took the powerless Elemental Orb from her hands, smiling as he corrected her. "The professors will be here soon. Think about how you're going to face them."
"This is against the rules!" Hermione insisted, but Ivy had already disappeared once more.
"Well, well! Miss Granger!" It was Professor McGonagall's voice, and Hermione had never seen her so angry. Her cold, clipped voice came from her pale lips. "You actually know this is against the rules!"
A Fireball spell does 8d6 damage. The orb can store 7 shots, and when all fired at once, each additional shot increases the damage by 1d6. Ivy used one at the Black Lake, so Hermione dealt a total of 13d6 damage. In the DND universe, an ogre has 59 HP and a troll has 84 HP. Although "troll" and "ogre" are the same in English, clearly, trolls are much weaker. They're just as stupid, ugly, and smelly as ogres. So, their HP should be similar to that of ogres, and Hermione's 13d6 Fireball instantly killed it.