Chapter 30: The Professors
Chapter 30: The Professors
Ron cupped his face and screamed, "You killed a troll?!"
Harry glanced at the group, noticing that no one seemed to pay attention to Ron. He said, "No, Hermione knocked out the troll." He paused, then unconsciously added, "With a Levitation Charm."
The reason for the conflict between the two in the Charms classroom earlier was that Hermione had tried to teach Ron how to use the Levitation Charm correctly, but Ron had become even more dissatisfied because of the condescending tone in her guidance.
"Hermione?!" Ron exclaimed in shock, mumbling, "How... how is that possible? That's... that's a troll!"
Hermione huffed indignantly, her wand still gripped tightly in her hand as she stared at the motionless troll on the floor. Excitement and fear mingled in her eyes, and it seemed as though something within her had awakened.
Parvati peeked out from behind Viaduct, whispering, "Is the troll dead?"
"No," Viaduct replied, eyeing the troll's slightly rising and falling chest. "It's just unconscious."
"Oh—that's a relief." Parvati patted her chest.
Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached—Professor McGonagall rushed forward, her face ashen. Close behind her were Professor Snape, his black robe billowing dramatically, and Professor Flitwick, his small stature belying his speed as he struggled to keep up with the others. Bringing up the rear was Professor Quirrell, who, upon catching sight of the troll's large, calloused feet, immediately clutched his chest and let out a sob, as if he might faint at any moment.
Professor Snape shot a quick glance at the stunned Harry, then bent down to examine the troll. In his unique high-pitched tone, Professor Flitwick exclaimed, "Oh, Merlin! Children, are you all right?"
"We're fine, Professor!" Michael said excitedly. "Aside from almost being sickened by the troll's stench!"
Professor Flitwick patted his arm approvingly and praised loudly, "Well done! First years—defeating a troll! I daresay not many can claim such a feat! How did you manage to overcome this beast?"
"Hahaha, it was a team effort," Michael replied, trying to rein in his enthusiasm. "Potter here rushed out to draw its attention—"
Professor Snape immediately fixed Harry with an intense gaze, causing him to lower his head, wishing Michael had never mentioned his name. Meanwhile, Ron stared at him with admiration.
"We all used the Flock of Birds Jinx to distract it, and then Viaduct used a spell—"
Michael turned to Viaduct, having forgotten the name of the spell.
"Slip-slide-away," Viaduct supplied.
"Right, slip-slide-away," Michael continued. "That made the troll trip and fall. Finally, Hermione knocked it out with the Levitation Charm."
Professor Flitwick applauded enthusiastically, exclaiming, "Brilliant teamwork! Marvelous! To achieve such a feat with simple spells is extraordinary! I shall award five points to each of you!"
"Filius!"
Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the air, her stern tone causing even the exuberant Professor Flitwick to shrink back and fall silent, quietly moving to the side.
The green-robed witch swept her cold gaze over each of them, and every student who met her eyes, including Viaduct, lowered their heads.
"Trolls are extremely dangerous creatures, and countless adult wizards have fallen victim to them," she said. "Your first instinct upon encountering one should have been to flee and find a professor to handle the situation. You are fortunate that none of you were harmed this time. Miss Granger!"
Hermione flinched.
"I recall you took leave from class this afternoon due to feeling unwell," Professor McGonagall continued, her eyes fixed on the girl's brown head. "Why are you here?"
"I..." Hermione had probably never lied to a teacher before, and now, being questioned directly, her mind went blank, and she stammered, "I thought... I read about trolls in a book, I thought..."
Vic grabbed the girl's shoulder and pushed her gently to the side—was this silly girl about to say that she thought she could take on a troll by herself, so she sneaked out for a duel? That excuse was so ridiculous that even the troll wouldn't buy it.
Even if the troll didn't believe it, what if someone else tried to pin the blame for the troll's intrusion on them? Don't assume that this wouldn't happen; Vic remembered that in the original story, Harry was misunderstood by his schoolmates more than once or twice.
"She felt better in the evening and didn't want to miss the banquet, so we were supposed to go to the Great Hall together." Vic calmly explained, "On the way here, Hermione and Padma went to the bathroom, Michael and I waited for a while, and we encountered the troll when we were leaving. We indeed should have run away immediately, but it happened so suddenly that we were all scared stiff and didn't react. Fortunately, Harry Potter drew the troll's attention and alerted us."
The professors looked at Harry again, and the boy's face turned bright red as he felt he didn't deserve such high praise.
Michael looked thoughtfully at Vic, understanding something, and added, "Yes, he smashed a bucket on the troll's head and yelled at us to run—it was very brave."
Professor Snape: "—A bucket?"
Harry's eyes were fixed on the ground, feeling that he was about to be torn apart by Professor Snape's gaze—he now suspected that these two Ravenclaws were trying to divert the professors' attention by praising him so much.
"Then what about you, Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall turned to Ron, "Why didn't you go back to your dormitory honestly?"
Ron had just been thinking that he should have come with Harry to become the hero who saved everyone and, more importantly, to make that arrogant Granger look at him with new respect. Suddenly being called out by Professor McGonagall, he was struck dumb and forgot what he was supposed to say.
Professor McGonagall's gaze became increasingly sharp.
Harry could only speak up for his good brother, mustering his courage and saying, "Ron came to warn us about the troll—"
"Yes, we all heard!" Professor Snape suddenly laughed coldly, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Shouting in the corridor, as if he didn't want the troll to find him... I think it should be written in your books that trolls have more sensitive hearing? Oh—Mr. Weasley probably hasn't even opened his textbooks, just like our savior—Mr. Harry Potter, who attracted the troll's attention with a bucket—heh, a bucket?! I really hope you haven't forgotten that you're still a wizard!"
The Gryffindor duo blushed with shame.
Michael silently gave Vic a thumbs-up in his mind—if it weren't for praising Harry Potter, they might be the ones being mocked right now. He didn't know that Snape's obsession with Harry was permanent and everlasting. Even if there were a thousand people here, he could only see Harry Potter.
But with Professor Snape taking the lead, Professor McGonagall's anger seemed to have eased, and she mused, "Since there are extenuating circumstances, I won't deduct any more points from you. I will inform Professor Dumbledore about this incident. Now, all of you hurry back to your common rooms—the students are enjoying the Halloween feast in their respective Houses!"
The group quickly left, and once out of the professors' sight, someone suddenly snickered, setting off a chain reaction of laughter among the group.
(End of Chapter)
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