Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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When Hermione came to her senses, Kyle was gone, leaving only Harry and Ron looking at her with worry.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked anxiously. "Did you see a troll?"
"What… I mean, of course not." Hermione shook her head. "Trolls are at least ten feet tall, and they reek of stench. If I saw one, I would have run away."
"That's true." Harry scratched his head, realizing his question was a bit silly.
If they had really encountered a troll, Hermione and Kyle wouldn't be standing there unharmed.
Even if they were incredibly skilled, they couldn't possibly handle a monster over ten feet tall.
It was impossible.
Harry sniffed. "It's good you're alright. Let's get out of here quickly."
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he had been vaguely smelling a foul odor since earlier, which made him very uneasy.
A troll might be nearby, ready to appear at any moment.
"I think you're overreacting, Harry. Maybe there's no troll at all."
Ron wasn't as worried. He thought for a moment and said, "It's probably just Professor Quirrell's joke to lighten the mood. Maybe the professors will come and tell us to go back to the Great Hall soon.
Don't forget, this is Hogwarts… Dumbledore's here."
"You're not wrong."
Hearing Dumbledore's name reassured Harry a bit, but he still felt something was off.
"Well, let's hurry back…"
Harry said, "At least until we figure things out, we can't let the professors see us here, or we'll definitely get points deducted."
Afterward, the three of them hurried towards the Gryffindor Tower.
Along the way, Harry and Ron discussed their encounter with Snape, agreeing that he was heading upstairs to the forbidden corridor.
Hermione, however, remained silent, following behind as if lost in thought.
Just as they were about to cross the corridor, she suddenly asked, "Did you two come specifically to see me?"
"Yes, we heard from Parvati Petit that you locked yourself in the bathroom,"
Harry said. "You didn't go to the Great Hall for the banquet, so you probably don't know about the trolls, and we wanted to tell you."
"But it seems it was a false alarm," Ron shrugged.
Hermione nodded slightly.
After a long pause, she whispered, "Thank you..."
"It's nothing, it's what friends do."
"Just don't lecture us again next time."
"Hey, Ron..."
"Okay, I won't."
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The three left the corridor and continued towards the stairs, but just as they turned the corner, they heard voices ahead.
"I didn't see any trolls, Professor."
Kyle, standing innocently among a group of professors, explained, "And there's a reason I didn't attend the Halloween party."
"Tell us," Snape drawled, "What could be so important that you could forget the Halloween party?"
Hearing that nightmarish voice, Harry instinctively shuddered and turned to run.
But that was clearly impossible.
"You three, come here!"
Professor McGonagall said coldly, "The Headmaster clearly stated that everyone should return to their dormitories. Didn't you all hear that?"
Snape gave Harry a sharp, piercing glare, instantly forgetting the excuse he had just prepared.
Harry stared at the ground, his mind blank. He didn't care about points or detention; he just wanted to get out of there.
At that moment, Hermione whispered, "Please, Professor McGonagall, they're looking for me."
"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall frowned.
Hermione stepped forward, head bowed, and said, "I'm looking for the troll. I want to see what it looks like… I've only read about them in books, so I'm very curious about them."
Ron's eyes widened. Hermione Granger had lied to the professor?
"They came specifically to find me because they were worried about my safety," Harry and Ron tried their best to appear as if they were already familiar with the story.
"If that's the case…" Professor McGonagall gazed at them, then said thoughtfully, "Miss Granger, you silly girl, real trolls are far more dangerous than you imagine. You should be glad you didn't encounter one."
"Yes, you're right…"
Hermione lowered her head.
Harry was speechless. Hermione had actually lied about breaking school rules to get them out of trouble.
It was unbelievable, like Snape suddenly handing out candy.
"Miss Granger, Gryffindor will lose five points because of this," Professor McGonagall said. "I'm very disappointed in you. You'd better get back to the Gryffindor tower now."
Then she looked at Harry and Ron.
"It's you two again! I remember your detention for going to the seventh floor to dismantle the armor in the middle of the night isn't over yet, and you've broken the rules again?"
"No!" Ron explained, blushing, "There was something hidden in that armor, I saw it…"
"But I only saw you destroying it, and there was nothing inside."
Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Alright, I don't want to pursue this matter any further. Don't let it happen again.
Also, because of your actions in helping Miss Granger today, your previous detention is lifted, and you can go now."
Harry and Ron were overjoyed and hurriedly passed behind the professor, going upstairs without a word.
Kyle wanted to follow, but Snape blocked his way.
"I don't think I heard your explanation."
Looking at Snape, who was blocking his way, Kyle was completely puzzled.
No, Harry was right here, why was he still holding a grudge against him?
Had he changed his mind about Lily so quickly?
Left with no other option, Kyle returned to his original spot and said,
"Professor Sprout rewarded me with the shell of an armored pumpkin, and I've been studying it in my dormitory, which is why I forgot about the banquet."
"Hmph, an armored pumpkin..." Snape sniffed, "Since you've been in your dormitory the whole time, why do you smell like a troll?"
"Do I?"
Kyle's expression remained unchanged, calmly replying, "I think it's probably the smell of compost... You know, it's everywhere in the greenhouse.
Of course, if you don't believe me, you can take my robes back and examine them closely."
With that, he began to remove his robes.
Kyle knew perfectly well that he had already used a cleansing charm on himself, so there was no way he could smell bad.
Snape was just lying to him.
[End of the chapter]