Aside from Hermione, who could do nothing because of hardware limitations, everyone now turned to look at Hermione's fluffy little head at Basil's words.
Then they all looked at the mess on the wall.
"Mr. Granger, I..." Professor McGonagall's face was filled with shame.
Snape looked at Harry's stupid face and wanted to make a sarcastic remark.
But when he looked at Basil and Hermione, the perfect pair in his eyes, and the corpse of the troll that had nearly broken into his office...
He kept his mouth shut.
Only Quirrell, the true culprit behind all this, who had taken the chance to figure out the room in the Third Floor Corridor and everything beneath the trapdoor, could offer an outsider's assessment.
"The children must have been terrified. Let them go back first. The students are all enjoying the Halloween feast in their own houses."
Professor McGonagall nodded repeatedly, her eyes full of concern. "You're right, Quirinus. You should all go back first. Oh, and for helping the school eliminate a hidden danger and saving your fellow students, Gryffindor receives fifty points!"
Snape finally could not hold his tongue any longer. "Fifty points? Mr. Granger did indeed perform admirably. But entering the girls' bathroom? Though I am certain Potter was behind that. Still, they made a minor mistake. Perhaps we should deduct another ten points? Five points each from Potter and Weasley."
"We were bringing food!" Ron complained indignantly.
"Who eats in a bathroom?" Snape replied without thinking.
Ron broke into a grin and opened his pocket, revealing pies and Pumpkin Juice stored in a potion vial.
Then he waved the half-eaten chicken leg in his hand.
Snape stared fixedly at the potion vial.
He was too furious to speak.
He had never imagined anyone would dare use it to