Professor McGonagall's gaze lingered on Hermione's face for a few seconds. She noticed the tear tracks still at the corners of her eyes and how pale she looked.
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She had been about to press Hermione about why she'd been alone in the bathroom, but seeing the girl still so shaken, Professor McGonagall softened.
In all her time knowing Hermione, the young witch had never once lied.
"Miss Granger, in view of what happened today, Gryffindor will lose five points."
That was all Professor McGonagall said in the end. Her tone was stern, but the punishment was much lighter than expected.
Harry and Ron breathed a sigh of relief. They had expected to lose more points, or even get detention.
Just then, Dumbledore, who had been inspecting the troll, finally straightened up. His blue eyes twinkled with wisdom behind his glasses.
"Minerva's decision is fair."
Dumbledore nodded, his voice calm.
"However, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter risked their lives to save their friend. That kind of courage deserves praise. Ten points to Gryffindor."
Snape gave a derisive snort from the side, clearly displeased with the decision.
Dumbledore pretended not to hear him and continued.
"Mr. White saved his friend..."
He paused and turned to Professor Flitwick, who was watching him expectantly.
"And for that flawless nonverbal spellcasting, twenty points to Hufflepuff."
At this, Professor Flitwick puffed out his chest, his smile blooming as brightly as a flower, as if the points had gone to Ravenclaw.
As Charlie's Charms Class professor, seeing his student excel was the best proof of his teaching ability.
"Nonverbal spellcasting!" Professor Flitwick couldn't help exclaiming again.
"To master this technique in your first year—I've never seen such talent!"
Snape's expression darkened further, and he glared viciously at Charlie.
The boy always managed to brew perfect potions in Potions Class, and now he'd shown off such impressive skill with spells.
It was becoming impossible to find a reason to take points from him.
"Every House is holding a feast in its common room right now," Dumbledore continued.
"If you head back now, you should still be able to join in."
Just as everyone was about to leave, Charlie suddenly spoke up.
"Professor Dumbledore, what will happen to the troll?"
Dumbledore glanced at him, a little surprised.
"It will be cut up into magical ingredients for use in classes. Every part of a troll has considerable magical value."
Nobody felt sorry for the troll. After all, it really was ugly.
Charlie's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "Since I was the one who defeated it, could I request permission to use some of its hide?"
"What do you want troll hide for?"
Professor McGonagall furrowed her brow. It was a rather strange request.
"I want to make a suit of armor out of it," Charlie said, not bothering to hide his intentions.
When he'd been attacking the troll just now, Charlie had been eyeing its hide. If he could make himself a suit of troll-hide armor, wouldn't it protect him from some spells?
The professors present were all stunned. A first-year wizard wanted to make armor?
It was certainly an inventive idea, but also a crazy one.
"Hahaha!" Dumbledore suddenly burst into laughter.
"What an interesting idea, Mr. White. I grant your request."
"Headmaster!" Professor McGonagall said, concerned.
"Letting a first-year student handle such dangerous magical materials..."
"Don't worry, Minerva." Dumbledore waved a hand.
"Troll hide itself isn't dangerous, and Mr. White has already shown that he can handle such things."
With Dumbledore's permission, Charlie was perfectly satisfied.
"Now, you can all return to your dormitories," Professor McGonagall urged.
The students started to leave. Harry was at the back when he suddenly noticed something odd about Snape's gait.
Snape was clearly keeping weight off his right foot. Through his black robes, Harry could make out what looked like a bite wound on his lower leg.
Stranger still, Snape was carrying a small parcel that smelled of food.
Harry blinked, making sure he'd seen right.
Professor Snape had actually packed up food for someone?
That was more shocking than seeing him in pink robes.
"Come on, Harry," Ron urged.
Harry hurried after them, but his curiosity only grew.
After watching the students leave, Dumbledore turned to Snape.
"Severus, how are things on the Fourth Floor?"
"Everything's fine," Snape answered expressionlessly.
"Someone did try to break in, but the dog stopped them."
Dumbledore nodded, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
"Looks like our security measures were effective enough." He paused, his gaze settling on Snape's slightly limping right leg.
"What happened to your leg?"
"Nothing serious," Snape said coolly.
"Just got bitten."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like Fluffy is still as bad-tempered as ever."
Snape didn't reply. He merely pressed his lips tightly together.
Dumbledore's gaze shifted to the parcel in Snape's hand, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"I seem to remember you ate quite a lot at the feast," Dumbledore said, feigning confusion.
"Why did you pack up more? Planning on having it as a midnight snack?"
He paused, a sly glint in his eyes.
"Or is it for someone in particular?"
Snape's face darkened instantly.
He glared at Dumbledore, his eyes practically spitting fire.
"If your powers of observation are so keen," Snape said sarcastically, "how did you let a troll into Hogwarts?"
With that, he angrily threw the parcel to the ground, swung his black robes around, and strode away.
Dumbledore watched Snape's retreating back and smiled awkwardly.
Then he bent down to pick up the parcel and muttered, "Oh, don't waste food."
Meanwhile, the four students were heading back to their respective dormitories.
After what had happened that night, things were a little awkward between Hermione and Harry and Ron.
Although they'd resolved their differences, both sides stayed silent, waiting for someone else to speak first.
The corridors had settled down. The occasional laughter and music reminded them that the Houses were holding celebratory feasts.
"Charlie, thank you so much," Hermione suddenly said, her voice trembling.
"If you hadn't arrived in time, I might have..."
She didn't finish, but everyone knew what she meant.
"It's all right. We're friends, after all."
Charlie waved it off, acting as if it were no big deal.
But Hermione was overcome by a powerful sense of failure.
When she'd just seen Charlie cast a Silencing Charm, it had been as smooth and practiced as anything she'd seen a professor do.
And what about her?
She studied desperately every day, memorizing all kinds of spells and theory, yet at the crucial moment she'd only been able to hide in a corner and tremble.
"Charlie, you must work really hard, don't you?" Hermione couldn't help asking.
"Mastering a Silencing Charm must have taken a lot of practice."
Harry and Ron exchanged a look, both struggling to hold back their laughter.
Work hard? Charlie?
The two words together were more unbelievable than a troll doing ballet.
Charlie slept through class, got other people to do his homework, and ran around with the Twins after lessons. And that was called working hard?
"Mm, I do work pretty hard," Charlie said, nodding solemnly.
"After all, you can't learn magic without putting in effort."
Hermione nodded deeply. Just as she'd thought.
Even geniuses had to work hard. Charlie must have put in unimaginable effort behind the scenes to become so capable.
The thought only made her admire him more.
"By the way, Hermione," Charlie suddenly said.
"If you really want to thank me, do my homework for me."
The corridor fell silent.
Hermione froze, staring at Charlie with wide eyes.
Harry nearly choked on his own saliva and coughed several times.
Ron's mouth fell open.
Whenever they tried to get Hermione to let them copy her homework, she'd chew them out.
She could go on forever about how "learning is your own responsibility" and "copying homework shows disrespect for knowledge."
And now Charlie was directly asking Hermione to do his homework?
He might as well have slapped her with it.
But to everyone's surprise, Hermione didn't get angry.
She tilted her head and thought for a moment. Suddenly, a look of realization lit up her eyes.
"I get it!" Hermione said excitedly.
"Charlie, you're trying to give me practice, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Charlie looked completely bewildered.
"You're so good at magic, you must be learning spells meant for older students," Hermione said, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.
"The basic assignments we get in class can't be of any use to you."
"But I still need to build a solid foundation." She clasped her hands, her eyes shining with excitement.
"If you give me your homework, I can do it twice and understand it even better!"
"Charlie, you're so considerate!"
Charlie stood frozen for half a second.
"Exactly. That's what I had in mind," Charlie said, immediately seizing the opportunity.
"I'll leave my homework to you from now on."
"You'll definitely become even better."
"No problem!" Hermione agreed readily, her face full of gratitude.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and saw the same thought in each other's eyes.
Charlie must have put a spell on her.
"Um... Hermione," Ron ventured.
"What about our homework..."
"Don't even think about it!" Hermione immediately shot him a glare.
"Ron, you're so lazy. You should do your own homework."
Ron hung his head. So much for being treated fairly.
Charlie was in an excellent mood.
Now Ernie would do one set of his homework, and Hermione would do another. His homework problem was completely solved.
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