Professor Sightseeing Group

Before Harley could say much more to Hermione, a series of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor outside the girls' lavatory.

Immediately after, Professor Snape burst into the lavatory with his wand gripped tightly, followed closely by Ron.

"Harley!" Professor Snape shouted before he had even steadied himself, his voice filled with an indescribable anxiety.

"Professor, I'm here!" Harley called out in response, while dispelling the Frost and Black Flame at her feet.

Hermione also struggled to stand up from Harley's embrace, quickly brushing the dust off her clothes.

Professor Snape finally took in everything inside the lavatory.

His gaze swept over Harley twice.

Seeing that Harley was only covered in dust and grime with dirty clothes, but had suffered no obvious injuries, Professor Snape finally let out a sigh of relief.

Subsequently, Professor Snape noticed the troll on the floor and couldn't help but gasp.

Ron, meanwhile, was trying his best to hide his figure, seemingly wanting to shrink into the shadows.

"What happened? Harley, why are you here? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?" Professor Snape fired off a barrage of questions.

"Professor." Harley paused to think before answering, "I came to find Hermione. She was crying in the lavatory over something, so I came to comfort her.

As it turned out, we ran into a troll, but fortunately, I managed to defeat it."

After hearing this, Professor Snape seemed to want to say something else, but after opening his mouth, he didn't know how to begin.

In the end, Professor Snape chose to simply crouch down to examine the troll's corpse.

Just as Harley was about to comfort the still-shaken Hermione again, new sounds echoed from the corridor outside.

A moment later, Professor McGonagall rushed into the lavatory, followed by Professor Quirrell and Professor Flitwick.

Seeing the fallen troll, Professor McGonagall's face turned deathly pale.

Professor Quirrell only took one look at the troll before letting out a weak sob, his body swaying slightly before he collapsed onto a toilet, clutching his chest tightly.

Harley gave him a strange look. Hermione hadn't reacted that strongly when she saw the troll; it could only be said that Professor Quirrell was not a very good actor.

As for Professor Flitwick, he joined Professor Snape, pointing his wand at the troll while muttering under his breath.

"What happened here?" Professor McGonagall's cold voice carried an irrepressible anger.

"Miss Potter, Miss Granger, I need an explanation.

Why were you not staying safely in your dormitory, and instead appeared in this place with a troll?"

At this point, Professor McGonagall noticed Ron in the shadows and added:

"And Mr. Weasley, I think you should also explain to me why you are here."

Ron's face turned as pale as Professor McGonagall's, though the reasons for their pallor were likely quite different.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing at all.

Just as Harley was about to speak, Hermione spoke up first: "Professor McGonagall, it's my fault."

"Miss Granger?"

"It's like this, Professor McGonagall. I was sad because my progress in learning magic always lags behind Harley's, and my grades in every subject aren't as good as hers.

So I was too upset and ran here to... cry, which caused me to miss the Halloween feast.

Harley heard the news from other students and came to comfort me." Hermione said softly, "When we wanted to leave the lavatory, we happened to encounter the troll. However, Harley successfully... killed it.

Immediately after, Professor Snape brought Ron in, seemingly because he heard the loud noise from here."

Harley understood immediately that Hermione was covering for Ron.

Ron seemed to realize this as well, a look of gratitude appearing on his face as he hurriedly added:

"Professor McGonagall, I didn't see Harley or Hermione at the Halloween feast, so I thought they didn't know the news about the troll in the castle.

Therefore, I left the main group of Gryffindor to look for them, and I ran into Professor Snape on the way."

As he spoke, Ron felt relieved in his heart that he hadn't told Professor Snape the truth, and that Hermione had also covered for him.

After hearing this, Professor McGonagall's expression softened slightly:

"Oh—if that is the case..." Professor McGonagall stared at them, murmuring in a low voice, "Miss Granger, you silly girl. How could you run off to cry for such a small reason?

You need to be more confident; your grades are also excellent, not much worse than Miss Potter's!"

As she spoke, Professor McGonagall took out a handkerchief, walked over to Hermione, and gently helped her wipe the dust and tear stains from her face.

"Hermione," Professor McGonagall said softly while wiping, "you must remember, you are no worse than anyone else.

Among all the students I have taught, you are among the very best. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, alright?

If you feel you are under psychological pressure, you are welcome to come and talk to me. My office door will always be open to you."

Hermione's face turned red involuntarily.

After doing all this, Professor McGonagall stood up and looked at Harley: "Harley, well done."

Few first-year students could ever hope to go toe-to-toe with a full-grown troll.

"You had better get back to the Gryffindor Tower! The students are all enjoying their Halloween feast in their respective houses."

"You as well, Ron."

After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she paused, then added, "Harley defeated the troll single-handedly and protected her classmate; fifteen points to Gryffindor."

"Ron thought of his classmate in a moment of crisis and took the initiative to come and warn us; another five points to Gryffindor."

Ron's face instantly flushed from deathly pale to a bright red, matching the color of his hair. He hurried out of the bathroom.

Harley and Hermione also apologized to Professor McGonagall, after which Harley helped Hermione, whose legs were still a bit shaky, and the two left the lavatory.

Watching the three of them leave, Professor McGonagall looked toward Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick:

"Severus, Filius, did you discover anything?"

After leaving the lavatory, Ron was waiting for the two of them at the end of the corridor.

Seeing Hermione and Harley, he blushed and whispered his thanks: "Thank you for not telling Professor McGonagall the truth."

"It's nothing," Hermione said softly. "Didn't you also realize we might be in danger and come running to find us?"

"That's not the same," Ron's face turned bright red. "It was my mistake this afternoon that made you so upset."

"If I hadn't said such horrible things, you never would have been in danger tonight."

"So... so I want to apologize. I'm sorry!"

Ron seemed to use every ounce of his strength to shout those words, then turned and bolted up the stairs without looking back.