Too Scary

The Castle must have seen emergencies of one kind or another all the time, because the school responded almost immediately.

Dumbledore ordered the Prefects to take the students to their Common Rooms, and the Prefects quickly began calling for the inexperienced first-years to stay close.

"Andrew's not here. He must have gone to the Library!"

His roommates reported it to a Prefect almost at once.

"Oh, hell... Is he in a Club?"

"Yes."

His roommate promptly named Andrew's Club.

"Good. They've got people who can fight..." The Prefect breathed a little easier. "Go to the fifth-years and find Hande. Have them organize a search near the Library. I'll inform the Head of House."

Andrew knew nothing of what was happening in the Great Hall.

He was still proud of finishing his work and was weighing whether to eat first and visit the Owlery later, or take advantage of the quiet to get his errand done before dinner.

"What's that smell?"

A foul stench suddenly hit him, and Andrew frowned.

The Underground Classroom often smelled bad, but never like a public toilet had exploded.

After a moment's thought, he took several steps back and confirmed that the strange smell was coming from ahead.

"Hell... One of Peeves's new Pranks?"

He wasn't sure. He tapped his backpack with his Wand, and a rope crawled out. If his Transfiguration had been good enough, it would have been a snake. This was the best he could manage.

The rope slithered along the foot of the wall until it made a loud noise around the corner. If Peeves was smashing things, that ought to draw him out.

But what reached Andrew's ears wasn't the sound of something hitting the floor. It was the thud of heavy footsteps, as though someone had brought an elephant into the Castle.

"Hell... What kind of new Prank is this?"

He backed up a few more steps, used a Levitation Charm to stick a sheet of Parchment to the wall, then turned it into a Mirror. He checked behind him for prank-playing ghosts or Goblins, but saw none.

By then, the smell had grown worse.

"Did Moaning Myrtle blow up a toilet?"

Andrew kept a firm grip on his Wand as he made the joke. He turned another sheet of Parchment into a mask and used his Wand to put it on.

"Oh... What the hell is that?"

He had chosen a good place to retreat to. A hulking figure over a dozen feet tall stood in the shadows. The lighting hid its face, but its sheer size was frightening enough. Worse, the figure held an enormous Club in its right hand, dragging it across the ground.

"Hell... Didn't I come here to study?"

Andrew rolled his eyes, then swung his Wand at the floor without a moment's hesitation.

Smack—squelch!

As Andrew cast his spell, the Troll broke into a lumbering run toward him. But the solid floor turned to mire beneath its huge foot. It stumbled, then found its foot trapped in a hole barely wider than itself.

With a sickening sound, it pulled its foot free and fixed its vicious gaze on Andrew.

The Transfiguration wasn't strong enough...

Andrew swung his Wand again. The rope he had sent ahead climbed the Troll's body, slipped past its huge hand as it tried to scratch at it, and wound around its neck and eyes.

The next instant, the rope turned into thorny Vines, binding themselves tightly over the Troll's eyes.

"ROAR!!!"

The Troll screamed in agony. It raised the Club it had been dragging and tried to smash it down toward Andrew, but the Club had only risen halfway when it began to stretch and stretch, turning into enormous Tree Roots.

The roots filled the fairly spacious passage almost at once. With the force spread through them, the Transfiguration held.

Andrew moved on to his next spell without hesitation. The Thorns around the Troll's eyes grew rapidly, and its agonized howls echoed through the entire Underground Passage.

In less than half a minute, it was over.

As far as Andrew understood it, no living creature could survive that. Even so, he swung his Wand again. The Mirror on the wall turned back into Parchment, then into a sharp Spike that drove into the Troll where its heart should be.

He swung his Wand once more, turning the tree back into a Club. Under his control, it struck the Spike again and again like a hammer, until the Spike was buried completely in the Troll's body.

"If you're still alive after that, I give up."

Only then did Andrew let out a breath. He approached cautiously. Whatever he'd said, what if it moved again?

But the Troll was unquestionably dead.

"It really is terrifying to look at... Good thing I practiced Transfiguration so hard..."

He tried a few spells he knew and found that they couldn't even pierce the dead brute's skin.

"But why would there be a Troll inside a school? Something feels wrong, but I can't put my finger on it."

He shook his head. He had no idea whether the creature was worth anything or had any useful materials on it, but even if it did, they weren't worth the risk.

Andrew retrieved the Parchment and rope, wiped away the most obvious traces around him, and made sure nothing left could be tied to him. Then he changed his hair color and style, added a few centimeters to his shoes, and hurried off.

It felt like some kind of plot was afoot. He had only just managed to kill a Troll. How could he dare get involved?

Besides, if something had gone wrong inside the school, it was obviously Professor Quirrell's problem. That didn't even need proving!

With that in mind, he avoided places with portraits and headed straight to the second-floor Library. He only had to browse the shelves for a while and undo his spells. He visited the Library often enough that no one would suspect a thing.

"You came looking for Granger?"

"Why not say Granger came looking for you two?"

"Honestly... One group sneaks out, kills a Troll, and thinks I won't know it was them because they didn't take credit. Then another group of younger students thinks they can take on a Troll!"

"Five points from Gryffindor. Five points each!!!"

"Professor, they really did come looking for me, because I... I thought I could take on the Troll too..."

Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione, who was plainly lying, then at the other two, who stood there like frightened quails.

"Very well. Five points from you too, Miss Granger. Now, off you go."

The two were visibly relieved, but the walk back was awkward.

"Fine. I've decided to forgive you," Granger said before she went into the Common Room ahead of them.