Work-Study

After taking a heavy blow to the head, the Troll was left dizzy. Its body swayed back and forth before it staggered several steps backward, its thick feet scraping loudly against the floor.

Matthew turned his wrist slightly and flicked his wand tip upward. "Stupefy!"

The Stunning Spell struck the Troll in the face.

The Troll was instantly knocked unconscious. Its body went limp and toppled backward.

Its enormous body crashed to the floor with a thunderous bang.

As the crash rang out, the five people standing nearby felt the floor shake beneath their feet.

Harry and the others stared in shock at the unconscious Troll. They hadn't expected Matthew to defeat such an intimidating-looking creature so easily. Senior Matthew really was dependable!

Ron was even more animated, exclaiming in amazement, "Wow! That was incredible!"

Of the group, he had known Matthew the longest. They were neighbors, both living in the hills near Autry and Saint Catchpole Village.

But he hadn't seen Matthew in action much before. The last time they encountered the Three-Headed Dog, Preserved Egg's Clone had mainly distracted it.

This was the first time he had witnessed Matthew's strength so directly.

Hermione was the most stunned. Her full-strength Stunning Spell had also hit the Troll, but it had only made the creature sway slightly and barely affected it. Matthew, on the other hand, had knocked the Troll down with a casual cast. The difference between them was enormous.

"Thank you, thank you..." Neville finally recovered, and a wave of fear washed over him. "If I hadn't run into you..."

If he hadn't met them, the Troll might have smashed him into a pulp tonight. The thought made his face turn even paler.

Matthew didn't waste any time. He took a Blood Drawing Apparatus out of his pocket.

The others watched him curiously.

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

Matthew smiled. "Troll Blood is a Potions ingredient. These few bottles will fetch quite a bit of money. I'm working to support myself."

Harry was stunned. Did that count as working to support himself?

Matthew inserted the Blood Drawing Apparatus into the Troll's arm and began drawing blood. Bright red Troll Blood flowed through the tube and into a glass bottle.

The Troll had a robust constitution, and its blood quickly filled the bottle. Matthew swiftly replaced it with another.

After he had filled a few bottles, the sound of hurried footsteps came from farther down the corridor. The commotion had finally brought someone running.

Matthew quickly packed away the apparatus and slipped the several full bottles of Troll Blood on the floor into his Extendable Pockets.

Watching Matthew's practiced movements, Harry felt as if a veil of mystery had settled over that dependable figure.

Several professors hurried over from a distance. Professor McGonagall led the way, with Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell following behind her. She looked anxious. When she spotted several students ahead, she feared what she might find and quickened her pace.

A moment later, the three professors reached them.

Seeing the Troll sprawled unconscious on the floor, Professor Quirrell clutched his chest rather theatrically and staggered toward the wall as if he might collapse at any moment.

Professor Snape shot Harry a cold glance, then walked toward the fallen Troll.

As he passed Matthew, he asked quietly, "You defeated it?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes, Professor."

Snape bent down to examine the Troll. When he saw the needle mark still oozing blood on its arm, he glanced up at Matthew but said nothing.

Professor McGonagall saw that none of the five students seemed to be hurt and breathed a sigh of relief. But a moment later, her expression turned furious, and she said sternly:

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

"Professor McGonagall..." Neville said shakily. "They... they came to look for me."

Matthew picked up the explanation and spoke calmly.

"Professor McGonagall, please let me explain. It was just an accident.

"Neville's pet had gone missing, so he went to the classroom to look for it. He missed the Hallowe'en Eve Banquet and didn't know about the Troll.

"Harry and the others were worried he might run into it, so they came to ask me to help look for Neville.

"When we found Neville, the Troll was right behind him.

"Fortunately, it hadn't hurt him yet.

"To keep Neville safe, I knocked the Troll unconscious."

Harry and the others nodded vigorously.

"You should have notified the teachers at once instead of putting yourselves in danger!" Professor McGonagall said angrily. "For your recklessness, each of you four will lose one point for your House!"

She softened her tone a little. "But your courage in rescuing a fellow student deserves praise as well. Each of you four will earn five points for your House."

Professor Snape seized the opportunity to add, "Defeating a Troll is also worthy of praise. Twenty points to Slytherin."

No one objected. Matthew really had defeated the Troll.

Professor McGonagall said, "You may all go back. The students are still enjoying the Halloween Feast in their Houses. Hurry, and you'll still make it back in time."

With that, she glared at Professor Quirrell, who was leaning against the wall. It was all his negligence. He had let a perfectly good Halloween Feast be ruined by the Troll, and now they had to stay behind 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 lot of blood.

She said quietly to Snape, "Take care of that wound. We still have use for this Troll."

Snape nodded impassively, took out a vial of Potions, and poured it over the wound on the Troll's arm.

Harry and the other three parted ways with Matthew at the staircase. Slytherin Common Room and Gryffindor Castle were in different places.

As they walked up the stairs, Ron said excitedly, "We earned Gryffindor twenty points tonight!"

Ron was delighted. Once they got back to Gryffindor Castle, he would have to tell everyone how he had earned points for Gryffindor.

Harry corrected him. "It's fifteen points. Neville doesn't get the reward."

Hermione added, "And you have to subtract the three points we lost. So we actually earned twelve."

"Then Matthew earned twenty-four points for Slytherin all by himself," Ron said enviously.

"He deserved them," Hermione said.

Neville spoke softly. "Thank you."

They exchanged smiles. "You already thanked us, didn't you?"

After tonight, their friendship had grown stronger.