Troll

"Don't rush. You can take your time looking. Oh, right—given all the dangerous things you've done before, I realized you're no saint either, so this is for you." Kayson comforted him as he summoned an Ender Pearl.

"If you run into danger you can't handle, smash this. I'll appear right in front of you. It'll work at Hogwarts too; this isn't within the scope of Apparition."

Neville accepted the Ender Pearl with a red face, then realized something awkward: he had forgotten to bring a gift.

Harry noticed Neville's embarrassment and changed the subject for him. "By the way, Professor, are you planning to attend today's Halloween feast?"

Kayson glanced at the calendar propped against the corner of the desk and suddenly realized. "Time flies. No wonder Professor Sprout asked me about makeup first—she thought I was trying on makeup."

"Will you be going, Professor?" Neville asked as he put away the Ender Pearl.

"Don't worry, I'll be there. But you have to let me clean myself up first. I haven't left my room for nearly a day and a half." Kayson spread his hands, and Harry and Neville hurried out of the office.

Once he had some free time, Kayson put away the book recording the enchantment symbols for the Ender Pearl, headed deeper into his office, took a comfortable bath, then opened his wardrobe and began admiring himself.

Before long, Kayson appeared at the High Table in a set of dark purple robes.

The robes had originally been black, but after Kayson witnessed the three-headed dog break through Snape's defenses with a single bite, he immediately lamented the dangers of Hogwarts and spent the entire night enchanting himself a set of battle wizard robes.

At that moment, they could also serve as formal wear.

"Seriously, those robes are quite nice," Dumbledore said, looking at Kayson's shimmering robes.

"Mm-hmm. Very nice indeed."

"Perhaps you could do something about my socks... ah, you know, when one gets older, one is always afraid of the cold."

"I hope they're a new pair of socks."

"Impossible!"

"All right," Dumbledore said somewhat aggrievedly.

Just as everything was peaceful and pleasant, Professor Quirrell suddenly ran into the Great Hall, gasping for breath.

"Dumbledore! A troll! There's a troll in the castle... urgh!" Quirrell fainted after failing to catch his breath.

"Looks like the Halloween feast can't go on after all," Dumbledore muttered before rising to his feet. "Students of all four Houses, follow your prefects and return to your common rooms immediately. Do not fall behind!"

"All professors, search every corner of the castle and find that troll."

"I'm guessing Quirrell let it in. A thief crying thief."

"I'm pleased to tell you that you guessed right," Dumbledore quietly agreed.

"Merlin's beard!"

Kayson muttered under his breath, quickly drew his wand, left the High Table, and headed in the direction Quirrell had come from.

He walked slowly. Hogwarts was enormous; finding a troll within it was definitely no simple task.

Without any surprises, it was entirely possible they would be searching all night.

Besides, the young wizards had all been evacuated back to their respective common rooms. The worst damage a troll could cause was damage to the building.

Wouldn't that be the perfect time for him to show off?

He had already planned it out: he would put on an architectural spectacle before the entire school and give Hogwarts a massive civil engineering shock.

Then he sensed an Ender Pearl shatter. The next moment, he appeared in a somewhat dilapidated corridor, with two young wizards in front of him.

Harry was slumped in a corner not far away, while Neville had a broken leg and was looking at Kayson, who had suddenly appeared, with a relieved expression.

Then Neville hurriedly pointed behind himself. Kayson turned around and saw Ron gripping the troll's neck from behind. Unfortunately... the troll had no neck.

And Hermione was in the corner. Umm, she had probably been knocked unconscious.

"Professor, watch out!"

He did not know who shouted it, but in any case, the troll noticed the wizard who had suddenly appeared in front of it. Its tiny brain could not understand how this wizard had gotten there, but acting on instinct, it picked up its club and smashed it down.

Kayson stood where he was and took the blow head-on.

It was not because he was trying to maintain the air of an expert. He simply... had not reacted in time.

Fortunately, he had shamelessly enchanted this set of robes over and over more than ten times. An attack that should have splattered his brains only made Kayson feel as if someone had knocked him on the head.

It had not even broken through his defenses.

"P-Professor, are you all right?"

Kayson shook his head. "Ron, get away from here!"

Seeing that Kayson had arrived, Ron finally breathed a sigh of relief. He nimbly jumped down from the troll's back, scooped Hermione up around the waist, and ran behind Kayson in a few swift strides.

Once Kayson saw that Ron and Hermione were far away, he relaxed. He lured the troll toward the corner of the corridor, and when it reached a suitable position and he was sure the four young wizards would not be caught in the blast, a white-glowing block appeared directly in his hand.

He forcefully pressed it into the troll's chest, then quickly summoned an Ender Pearl and left the spot.

With a bang.

He appeared in front of Ron and Neville, where an Obsidian wall blocked the flesh and blood blasted out by the explosion.

"But I have to say, that big guy really stinks."

Kayson frowned and complained, then carried one in each hand and another on his back. Ron followed behind them as the five headed straight for the Hospital Wing.

Only after handing all four young wizards over to Madam Pomfrey did Kayson find Dumbledore.

"You should give that Quirrell an entire bottle of Veritaserum! One troll nearly killed four young wizards. Who knows whether he let in more than one?"

Dumbledore soothingly patted Kayson on the shoulder.

"Relax, relax. I've already confirmed that there was only one troll, and that troll has already been blown into mush by you. Relax."

"That's for the best. But I still think you should keep Quirrell under control. If you can't bring yourself to do it, I can sack him in the middle of the night. I guarantee that before christmas break, his backside won't be leaving a wheelchair."

Dumbledore looked at Kayson somewhat strangely.

"I never knew you were so... aggressive. After all, you've always seemed rather laid-back before."

"He's throwing trolls into Hogwarts now. What else would he not dare to do? At a time like this, am I supposed to stand there and say something ridiculous like, 'Quirrell is an innocent, good man'?"

"He's already an enemy!"

Kayson spoke somewhat excitedly.

"I understand, I understand. But you can rest assured. Really."