Work-Study Program

The troll, after taking a heavy blow to the head, became dizzy and swayed in place, then stumbled back several steps, its thick feet dragging loudly across the floor.

Matthew twisted his wrist slightly, lifting the downward-pointing wand tip upward. "Stupefy!"

The Stunning Spell struck the troll square in the face.

The troll was instantly knocked unconscious by the spell, its body losing control and falling backward.

The troll's massive frame crashed onto the floor with a thunderous noise.

When the great boom rang out, the five people standing nearby could all feel the ground tremble beneath their feet.

Harry and the others stared dumbfounded at the unconscious troll, never expecting Matthew to defeat this seemingly formidable creature so easily. Senior Matthew was truly reliable!

Ron waved his arms excitedly and exclaimed, "Wow! That was amazing!"

Among them, he had known Matthew the longest—they were neighbors, both living in the mountains near Autry-Saint Catchpole Village.

But he hadn't seen Matthew fight much before. Last time they encountered the Three-Headed Dog, it was mainly Preserved Egg's Clone that distracted it.

This was his first time witnessing Matthew's strength so directly.

Hermione felt the impact most keenly. Her own full-force Stunning Spell had also hit the troll, but it had only made the creature sway slightly, barely affecting it. Matthew's casual Stunning Spell had knocked the troll flat—the gap was enormous.

"Thank you, thank you all..." Neville said, recovering and feeling a wave of fear. "If I hadn't run into you..."

If he hadn't met them, he might have been smashed into paste by the troll tonight. At the thought, his face paled a few shades.

Matthew didn't waste time. He took a blood-drawing apparatus from his pocket.

The others watched his movements with great curiosity.

Harry asked curiously, "Senior Matthew, what are you doing?"

Matthew replied with a smile, "Troll blood is a potion ingredient. These jars can sell for a good amount of money. I'm working my way through school."

Harry was stunned. Was this really considered working through school?

Matthew inserted the blood-drawing apparatus into the troll's arm and began drawing blood. Bright red troll blood flowed through the tube into a glass bottle.

The troll's blood was rich and vigorous, quickly filling the bottle. Matthew swiftly swapped in a new one.

After drawing several bottles, a mess of footsteps came from afar. The commotion had finally attracted attention.

Matthew quickly packed up the apparatus and stowed the bottles of troll blood into his Extendable Pockets.

Harry watched Matthew's practiced movements and felt as if a layer of mist had settled over that reliable back.

Several professors hurried over from a distance, led by Professor McGonagall, followed by Professors Snape and Quirrell. Her face showed some anxiety as she spotted a few students ahead, fearing what she might see next, and quickened her pace.

A moment later, the three professors arrived before them.

Professor Quirrell, seeing the troll knocked out on the floor, clutched his heart rather dramatically and staggered back against the wall, as if about to collapse at any moment.

Professor Snape shot a cold glance at Harry before walking toward the fallen troll.

As he passed Matthew, he asked quietly, "Did you defeat it?"

Matthew nodded and said confidently, "Yes, Professor."

Snape bent down to examine the troll. When he noticed the bleeding needle marks on its arm, he glanced up at Matthew but said nothing more.

Professor McGonagall, seeing that none of the five students present showed signs of injury, sighed in relief. But immediately, she grew very angry and spoke in a stern tone:

"Why are you here? You should be in your dormitories right now!"

"Professor McGonagall..." Neville stammered, "They... they came looking for me."

Matthew took over the explanation, speaking calmly:

"Professor McGonagall, allow me to explain. This was just an accident.

Neville's pet got lost, and he went to the classroom to find it, missing the Hallowe'en Eve Banquet. So he didn't know about the troll.

Harry and the others were worried he might run into the troll, so they asked me to help find Neville.

When we found him, the troll was right behind him.

Fortunately, he hadn't been hurt yet.

To keep Neville from harm, I knocked the troll out."

Harry and the others nodded vigorously like pounding garlic.

"You should have informed the teachers immediately, not taken the risk yourselves!" Professor McGonagall said angrily. "Because of your recklessness, each of you four loses 1 point for your respective houses!"

She softened her tone. "But the courage to save a companion is also worthy of reward. Each of you four earns 5 points for your houses."

Professor Snape seized the moment, speaking unhurriedly, "Defeating the troll is also worthy of reward. Slytherin gains 20 points."

No one objected—the troll had indeed been defeated by Matthew.

Professor McGonagall said, "All of you, go back. The students are still enjoying the Hallowe'en feast in their common rooms. If you hurry, you can still make it."

With that, she shot a glare at Professor Quirrell, who was leaning against the wall. It was his negligence that had let this troll ruin a perfectly good Hallowe'en feast, and now she had to stay and clean up the mess.

After Matthew and the others left, Professor McGonagall looked at the wound on the troll's arm. It seemed to have lost quite a bit of blood.

She said quietly to Snape, "Tend to this wound. This troll is still useful."

Snape nodded expressionlessly, pulling out a vial of Potions and pouring it over the wound on the Troll's arm.

Harry, the other three, and Matthew parted ways at the stairs—the Slytherin common room wasn't in the same place as Gryffindor Castle.

Walking up the stairs, Ron said excitedly, "We just earned Gryffindor 20 points tonight!"

Ron was thrilled; once they got back to Gryffindor Castle, he'd make sure to spread the word about how he'd scored those points.

Harry corrected him, "It's 15 points. This Time's commendation doesn't count Neville."

Hermione added, "And if you factor in the 3 points deducted, it's really only 12 points."

"Then Matthew alone got Slytherin 24 points," Ron said with a hint of envy.

Hermione said, "He earned it."

Neville murmured, "Thank you, all of you."

The Several People exchanged smiles. "You already thanked us, didn't you?"

After tonight, their friendship had grown even stronger.