"Sean Green?!"
Professor McGonagall saw the last person she expected to see there and momentarily lost her breath. She glared at Sean, trembling with anger.
"Fifty points deducted from Ravenclaw—for your foolish behavior!"
She was clearly furious.
Harry and Ron were stunned. How did the professors' fire suddenly swivel onto Sean the instant he appeared?
Equally stunned at the doorway was Professor Flitwick. He hesitated—was Ravenclaw about to… run out of points?
"Sean Green." Flitwick pushed the door open and stepped in, coughing twice. McGonagall's rage cooled a fraction; Snape's eyes stayed icy.
"Can you tell us what happened, children? Miss Granger, I believe you requested leave this afternoon."
His gentleness let the frightened first-years breathe again.
"It was me—I came to—" Hermione, still dazed, couldn't let Sean lose a hundred and fifty points just like that. Think about it: he'd worked so hard to earn that much.
"It was all of us, Professor," Justin jumped in. "We were going to meet up with Hermione for the feast when we ran into the troll, and we defeated it together."
He knew Sean probably wasn't going to say much—not with tempers flaring like this. He had no idea if Hogwarts would punish or reward them for fighting a troll, but from the look of things… probably not well. So they had to share the burden.
"Oh? You say you risked your lives and defeated a troll?!" Flitwick blinked, gesturing for him to go on.
"Yes, Professor. Neville and I harried it, Harry and Ron drew its attention, and Sean finished it with Levitation."
Eyeballing the gigantic club and the troll's flattened skull, Justin quickly reconstructed what must have happened—and then embroidered everyone's part.
The rest stared, dumbfounded—until Harry recovered first:
"That's right, Professor."
"Yeah," Ron echoed.
House points docked? Not a problem. Losing access to Green's Notes—that would be a disaster.
Ron thought, pleased: Mr. Green's character is plain to see; I helped this time—surely that means I get to read the newest Green Notes?
The thought alone was thrilling.
"Oh—how heroic! Children, I think I must award—" Flitwick began, glancing at the other two professors. McGonagall's fury had burned out; she now looked the group over with worried eyes—especially Sean. Snape shot Sean a death glare that said plainly: Just you wait.
"First, Mr. Green: for your excellent command of Charms, one hundred and fifty points!"
One glance told Flitwick exactly which spells Sean had used, and he was delighted to see his prize student combining them so well in combat. Look at that Levitation, that Knockback aimed at the club—perfectly tuned to a troll's traits: high magic resistance, fragile head, ponderous bulk. What battlefield sense!
McGonagall and Snape looked sour, but they did not object.
Flitwick winked at Sean, as if to say: "Don't worry—we'll earn the rest back later."
"And for the others—twenty points each, for not abandoning a friend, for smart teamwork, and for grit in bringing down a troll!"
At that, everyone burst with excitement.
"Go enjoy your feast, children!" Flitwick said quickly, hustling them out before the other two professors could speak.
Only after the staff had gone did the chatter return in a rush.
"Merlin, Sean—I still can't picture you taking down a troll alone! It must've been spectacular!" Justin grinned.
"I heard a bang—was that when the troll hit the floor?" Harry finally asked the question he'd been holding back. And only then did he realize something: the four in front of him were almost never apart—especially Sean, Justin, and Hermione—and he himself wasn't really one of them. It was just that Sean, for some reason, kept helping him and Ron.
"I'd guess so," Justin said briskly, then turned. "What did you use, Sean?"
"Transfiguration, Levitation, Knockback…" Sean began. "Oh—and thank you."
"It's me who should—" Hermione's voice was strong again. "Thank you, Sean—especially you. And Justin, Neville, Harry, and Ron."
Harry felt a vague sense of distance evaporate—right when Sean said thank you.
He would've been satisfied with that, but Ron suddenly blurted, "Can I see the newest edition of Green's Charms Notes?"
Justin doubled over laughing. "What 'newest edition'? The Charms notes are co-written by Sean and Hermione. I'm guessing the part you mean is what Hermione just added…"
Ron went crimson—only to feel a sky-blue notebook pressed into his hands. He turned; Hermione stood there, chin up. "Take it. And I only did a little—Sean's ahead of me by miles."
…
October ended; November arrived on cue.
It was the season when you simply had to wear gloves. Maybe because Quidditch season was nearing, tension between the Houses ran hot.
After the troll incident, the three in the Hope Nook trusted Sean in a quiet, unspoken way. Harry and Ron did too—after every class, Ron bragged about how Sean had soloed a troll. The distance between him, Harry, and Hermione vanished fast. That pleased Justin: with Harry and Ron around, Hermione didn't hear any more snide gossip. After all, the two had earned points lately and swaggered enough not to fear losing any in a fight. Especially Ron—worked up, he would lob Scabbers.
As for Sean—he wasn't feeling great. Since that night, he hadn't seen Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape. Today he needed both Transfiguration practice and a Potions brew. He'd tried to resolve it himself, but both professors seemed to be in the Headmaster's office—so for a while, he couldn't find either of them.
And on the afternoon of the day after Halloween, several figures were already standing in the Headmaster's office.
~~~
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