"Oh my goodness, Draco..." Hermione's face turned as pale as a Hogwarts ghost. "Thank you."
"Not angry anymore?" Draco grimaced and made a face at her. Hermione was extremely embarrassed and gave him an awkward smile.
Then, to her surprise, she realized she could smile again. Just half an hour earlier, she had thought she would never smile again at Hogwarts.
But now, strangely enough, the sadness and gloom in her heart were dispelled by the troll's fright and Draco's interference.
A sense of relief, mixed with a deep sense of lingering fear, and a faint feeling of goodwill and joy, quietly spread through the dark corner of the corridor.
Draco noticed something else as well. Hermione's hands were colder than his own, even though he had spent the entire night wandering the Astronomy Tower.
And she was still trembling.
Like a rabbit trapped in the snow and ice, unable to find its burrow, her eyes are red, and the moonlight makes her small face appear pale.
Merlin, that smile looks more like a grimace. It brings her little joy, nor does it satisfy my twisted sense of humor. Instead, it stirs the last vestiges of pity in my heart.
A self proclaimed upright Gryffindor? A brave and fearless Hermione Granger? No, she is just a careless little scatterbrain!
She will either get swallowed up by the steps, freeze herself into an icicle, or be foolish enough to become the troll's meal!
Is she not the smartest? Why can she always find dangers that are beyond the reach of ordinary people?
She is always alone, looking isolated and helpless. Who could ignore her? He was secretly annoyed, feeling as though some invisible chain was tightening around his heart.
However, she looked at him timidly, holding his hand tightly as though afraid he would run away. It seemed he was not the ruthless Slytherin she despised, but someone she could trust. Her affectionate gaze made his heart ache.
Draco had absolutely no idea what to do with her.
This little ice cube that often makes me furious, but looks so pitiful right now! He thought angrily, but did not let go of her hand.
They stood there holding hands, their hands icy cold, staring blankly at the girls' toilets for a few seconds, until he had to ask himself how long two people with such cold hands could hold hands without warming up.
He sighed and released her. With a puzzled look in her eyes, he took an empty jam jar from his robe pocket and handed it to her, conjuring bright blue flames with his wand and placing them inside. "Take this."
She seems to quite like keeping warm like this, Draco thought silently, drawing on his memories from his past life.
Hermione then realized that she had been holding onto his hand the whole time. Somewhat embarrassed, she cupped her hands around the warm jar, looked down at the strange blue flame, and whispered "thank you" again.
"My pleasure," he said, his expression finally relaxing somewhat.
Draco glanced toward the toilets again. He wanted to get Hermione away from this dangerous place as soon as possible. A place where trolls roamed was not one of the top tourist destinations in the wizarding world.
Just then, he noticed two small figures walking sideways toward the open toilet door. One of them jumped up, pulled the key from the door, and slammed it shut, locking it securely.
If my eyesight is not deceiving me, these should be Potter and Weasley, correct? These two unremarkable little geniuses of the wizarding world have locked up the troll.
Excellent! If I were not afraid of being discovered, I would whistle at them right now.
Hermione, who was cradling the jar, also saw this scene. She nestled close to him, her tousled hair peeking out from beside him, and whispered, "Why are they here too?"
However, before she could get an answer, Draco was stunned to find that Potter and Weasley, who had already run away, had run back down the corridor, dizzy and confused, and reopened the door to the girls' toilets.
Merlin, is tonight Halloween, or Gryffindor's Night of Foolishness?
Are all the reckless idiots in Gryffindor lining up to die?
Draco's face turned green.
Immediately afterwards, the two reckless fools rushed into the girls' toilets, shouting, "Hermione! Are you in there?"
"Goodness!" Hermione exclaimed in shock. She turned to look at him, her cheeks, which had regained some color, turning deathly pale again, and her eyes filled with fear once more. "Draco, I think they have come for me! I must save them!"
She was trembling and tried to rush toward the girls' toilets, but he grabbed her wrist.
"How will you save them? Did you bring your wand? How do you plan to defeat the troll?" Draco frowned and asked her three questions in a row.
For an unarmed first year student to confront a mountain troll is utterly reckless, irrational, and extremely dangerous.
There is no safer way to die. She is doomed.
"I did not bring my wand, and I do not know how to defeat trolls, but I cannot simply leave them there. They came back for me!" The little girl turned around and yelled at him excitedly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Let me go! I want to go find them!" Her eyes started to redden again, like a rabbit ready to bite, her expression extremely stubborn.
Merlin! Is there anyone more ungrateful than her? Draco felt a surge of anger rising within him.
However, her tears... he could not bear to see Miss Know It All's tears.
They are so ugly, not attractive at all.
"Fine, I will go with you," Draco rolled his eyes, and before he could finish speaking, he wanted to slap himself.
Fool! What are you doing? How did you end up joining the army of reckless idiots? Draco cursed himself inwardly, but his feet would not obey him as he followed the impulsive crybaby, Hermione Granger, toward the girls' toilets.
"Run, Ron, run!" As they approached the door, they could already hear Potter shouting from inside the toilets.
When they entered the room, the unexpected and thrilling scene terrified Draco, making him feel as though he had been stung by a Billywig, sending his soul flying.
Weasley's small frame clung tightly to the wall, wand in hand, trembling as though he were terrified. Potter, on the other hand, rode bravely and foolishly on the troll, clinging tightly to its ugly neck.
Potter's wand appeared in the most unexpected place. It looked like a sticky twig, abruptly stuck in the troll's nostril.
A wizard would abandon his wand and choose melee combat? Draco was stunned.
What makes Potter think he can fight a monster physically?
I have lived two lives and have never seen such mindless behavior!
Is this the intelligence of the person who can defeat the Dark Lord?! Merlin must be blind. Draco's pupils dilated in shock, and he inwardly groaned.
At this moment, the troll roared in pain, waving the club in its hand and twisting its body wildly. It seemed that it could shake off the tiny creature clinging to its body at any moment and deliver a fatal blow, or first strike Ron, who was not far away, with the club.
"Please save them, Draco, please," Hermione pleaded, tugging at his sleeve anxiously.
I hate myself for not carrying my wand with me. It is my biggest mistake of the day. I can only plead with him. For some reason, I feel Draco will have a solution.
In fact, even with seven extra years of study, Draco had no confidence in facing a troll head on.
But the situation was already very critical. The troll heard the noise at the door and turned around in confusion. Danger was about to affect him and the little girl beside him.
"Immobulus!" In a flash, Draco used the first spell that came to mind.
That was the Freezing Charm Hermione had used to deal with the Cornish Pixies in Defense Against the Dark Arts class in his previous life.
Fortunately, it worked, and the astonished troll was frozen in place for a moment.
"Brilliant!" Weasley's exclamation came from the other side of the wall.
"Get out of here!" Draco's eyes were serious, showing no sign of relief, and he shouted at them sharply. He continued to point his wand at the troll, just in case the creature suddenly regained its senses and attacked them unexpectedly.
It was only by chance that I managed to freeze it! Trolls have thick hides and are highly resistant to magic, and wizards have always been wary of them. I do not know how long my Freezing Charm will last.
Upon hearing this, Potter quickly pulled the disgusting wand from the troll's nostril, rubbed the sticky substance off it, and scrambled down from it. Weasley and Hermione, who had come to her senses, hurriedly helped him to prevent him from slipping and falling.
The troll twitched its eyelids, seemingly about to wake up. Faint voices could be heard coming from the other end of the corridor. Perhaps the professors had found their way here.
This is not good.
If professors discover that several arrogant first years are facing a troll instead of obediently returning to their dormitories, House point deductions and punishment are inevitable.
Draco did not want to tarnish his House's reputation by losing any unnecessary points.
"Quick! Hide! Do not let anyone find us!" Draco hurriedly called to them, and they hid in a nearby classroom.