Saving People Requires Skill Too

A loud crash rang out in the corridor.

Looking at the Troll that had crumpled after taking just five spells, Aaron felt no joy at all. Instead, his heart ached.

Weren't Trolls supposed to be something even adult wizards might not be able to handle? Were they just trying to scare children?

With this level of combat ability and such abysmal intelligence, anyone who knew a few proper spells could toy with it to death!

What a waste. He had originally planned to use his favor from Snape against Voldemort's soul fragment—Professor Quirrell. Instead, it had been squandered for no reason. It was like using a pair of jokers to beat someone's three.

"Ugh! What a huge loss," Aaron sighed.

Snape, on the other hand, felt exactly the opposite. This had been a massive gain for him. "Ahem! Mr. Gaius, after this, I won't owe you anything."

"I understand, I understand! No matter what, I still have to thank you for stepping in, Professor."

At that moment, Hermione emerged from the Girls' Bathroom. The first thing she saw was the Troll sprawled at the entrance. Her eyes flew wide open, and she let out a long scream.

"Ah!"

"It's all right, Hermione." Aaron immediately comforted her. "It's all right now!"

"What exactly happened?" Hermione asked, clutching her chest, still shaken.

"It happened like this..."

After hearing the explanation, Hermione could not help feeling fortunate, followed by heartfelt gratitude toward Aaron.

She could never have defeated a Troll. If Aaron had not come to save her, her life might have been in danger.

But what she had not expected was for Professor Snape, who was always at odds with Gryffindor, to come and rescue her as well. That was something she could not understand.

"Thank you, Aaron," Hermione said. Then, with a complicated expression, she looked at Snape. "And thank you too, Professor Snape."

Snape froze for a moment, then gave a soft snort. Yet the look in his eyes was even more complicated than Hermione's expression.

"I did not come specifically to save you. I merely fulfilled a promise," Snape said haughtily. "To be honest, Miss Granger, I should thank you, because what Mr. Gaius asked me to do was far easier than I expected."

Aaron's eye twitched. "Professor, was that necessary?"

He simply could not understand why someone so warm-hearted beneath his cold exterior insisted on making himself seem so icy.

Snape did not answer. He merely gave the two of them a long look before turning and leaving.

Just then, Harry and Ron came running over and happened to run into Snape.

The moment Snape saw those two Gryffindors—especially Harry Potter—his mood instantly brightened.

"What are you two doing here? I seem to recall Dumbledore just said that all students were to return to their dormitories under the prefects' supervision! Have you become so capable that you can ignore the headmaster's orders?"

"We..." Harry stammered, unable to say anything.

Ron was much the same. He particularly disliked this professor, but he was also particularly afraid of him.

They had thought they only needed to notify Hermione. Who could have expected Snape to catch them red-handed?

This was not merely bad luck. This was exceptionally bad luck.

"Do you not have an explanation?" Snape pressed on.

"We came to tell Hermione that there was a Troll in the school," Harry said, forcing himself to be brave.

"Ah," Snape drawled, pointing with a cold smile at the Troll lying nearby. "So you believed you could defeat that Troll? I should not need to tell you what would have happened if Aaron and I had not arrived in time! You would have died alongside Miss Granger at the hands of that monster."

The two of them looked at the Troll's enormous body and lowered their heads.

Snape was quite satisfied with their reaction, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. Then he said coldly, "Five points from Gryffindor."

"You can't do that!" Harry immediately protested, his face filled with indescribable anger.

"This is five points! They had not lost that many points since the start of term!

"Yes, that is indeed somewhat unfair!" Snape nodded in wholehearted agreement, then added, "It should be five points each. The two of you will lose ten points in total. Of course, you may object, if you believe your lives are worth less than those ten points."

Harry and Ron exchanged a look and had no response. No one would think points were more important than their lives.

"What about him?" Ron pointed at Aaron and said indignantly, "Didn't Aaron come here too? Why doesn't he lose points?"

"Mr. Weasley, you should know that I am actually very pleased you asked me that." Snape smiled. "Because Aaron and I came here together. Is that reason enough?"

Ron looked at Aaron, a Slytherin student, then at Snape, the Head of Slytherin, and seemed to understand something.

That was right. Aaron had acted alongside a professor. Put nicely, he had thought before acting. Put bluntly, he had cared about staying alive.

Harry and Ron were different. They had slipped away from the student group without telling anyone, so naturally there had been no one to protect them.

Put nicely, they had acted rashly out of concern. Put bluntly, they had been brainless—nothing but reckless fools!

The difference between the two was obvious.

Even so, Ron was clearly still unconvinced. He was about to offer another rebuttal, but Harry stopped him, and he reluctantly let it go.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall and Professor Quirrell arrived as well. Only after seeing that no students had been hurt did they finally let out deep breaths of relief.

Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and Ron and said with some anger, "What happened? You two—no, you three—had better explain yourselves."

"Professor..."

Hermione had just wanted to plead for Harry and Ron when Snape silenced her with a glare. Though she felt aggrieved, she could not refuse her savior that much respect.

"Professor McGonagall, I believe the explanation should come from our Slytherin student. Mr. Gaius has always been a good student. I am sure he will not twist the facts like certain people merely to avoid criticism," Snape said smugly, not forgetting to cast Harry and Ron a gleeful look.

"Very well. Aaron, can you tell me what happened?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Er..." Aaron glanced at the guilty-looking Harry and Ron, then at Hermione, whose eyes were still damp and who had yet to recover from the fright. He sighed softly. "Professor, it is Halloween, and it is already so late. How about we explain it tomorrow? The three of us boys are fine, but Hermione was badly frightened and needs proper rest."

"Aaron!" Snape was somewhat displeased. This was a perfect chance to humiliate Gryffindor. Though such opportunities were never scarce, major mistakes like this were rare, especially when Harry Potter was involved. Seeing Harry with a miserable face always improved Snape's mood considerably.

"Professor Snape, you have already deducted ten points from them. In other words, they have already received the punishment they deserved..." As Aaron spoke, he noticed that the coldness on Snape's face had not lessened in the slightest, and he quickly changed his tune. "I think it would be better to let them admit their mistake to Professor McGonagall themselves. After all, the two of us know what happened, so I imagine they would not dare lie, would they?"

Only then did Snape reluctantly agree. Though Professor McGonagall's kindness meant she would certainly not do much to punish the two Gryffindors, she would definitely lose her temper once she learned the truth. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley would be the only ones left to bear that anger.

When put that way, it was not entirely unacceptable.

"Then I will give you one day to think about how you will explain yourselves to your Head of House!" Snape said before leaving the corridor without looking back.

"You two should watch yourselves!" Professor McGonagall gave Harry and Ron a cold look, then turned a gentle gaze toward Hermione Granger. Among the first-year Gryffindors, she was the only one who gave Professor McGonagall any peace of mind.

"Miss Granger, you must have been terribly frightened today. Go back and rest first."

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione nodded weakly.

"You should leave quickly! It isn't dead yet!" Professor Quirrell said nervously. Just then, the Troll lying on the floor began to snore, startling the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor into trembling.

The three professors left one after another, while Aaron and the other three slowly headed back toward their dormitories.

On the way, Hermione could not help asking, "What kind of agreement did you make with Professor Snape?"

"Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me feel cheated!" Aaron said helplessly.

Harry and Ron immediately became interested, both watching him curiously and hoping he would explain.

"Fine, but you must keep this secret. Professor Snape asked me to become the Seeker for the Slytherin House Team. I agreed, but I asked him to help me once without conditions during this school year. Of course, only within his capabilities."

"So what you asked him to do was come save me?" Hermione's expression turned complicated. She knew the favor she owed this time seemed rather large.

"What else? I had heard the stories about Trolls too. I was afraid I could not handle it, so I asked Professor Snape for help. Looking at it now, that was completely unnecessary. I think I could have dealt with it myself. Instead, I wasted a favor from a Potions Master for nothing."

Hearing that, Harry and Ron were both rather stunned, but they were worried about something else.

Aaron had become Slytherin's Seeker, which meant he was now Harry's opponent in Quidditch matches. That was not good news at all.