Bathroom and Troll

In the Great Hall, a thousand bats fluttered along the walls and ceiling, while another thousand swirled above the dining tables like clusters of low dark clouds, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker.

Delicious food suddenly appeared on the golden plates, just as it had at the feast at the start of term.

Yet Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

Not only was Hermione absent, but Damon was nowhere in sight either, leaving Harry and Ron rather puzzled.

"No way. It's a holiday today. Is Damon really practicing Charms even now?"

The two already knew Damon spent his free time diligently practicing Charms, but neither had suggested joining him.

For one thing, they did not think there was any need to work that hard.

For another, they were too embarrassed to ask Damon—if they could not keep it up and gave up halfway through, that would be far too humiliating.

Like now, for instance. Of course they wanted to enjoy the holiday atmosphere rather than practice Charms alone somewhere deserted.

But when Professor Quirrell suddenly rushed into the dining hall, the festive atmosphere vanished at once.

His large turban sat crookedly on his head, and his face was filled with terror. Everyone stared as he staggered to Professor Dumbledore's chair, leaned against the table, and gasped out:

"Troll. In the dungeons. I thought you ought to know."

With that, he collapsed face-first onto the floor and fainted.

No one knew who started it, but amid shrill screams, the entire dining hall descended into chaos.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore set off several ear-splitting firework explosions with his wand. "Prefects, please lead the students of your respective houses back to their dormitories immediately!"

Very quickly, under the leadership of the four prefects, order returned from the chaos. At that moment, Harry suddenly whispered to Ron:

"Ron—Hermione!"

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know about the Troll! And Damon's gone too. Did he really go off to practice Charms?"

Ron bit his lip and quickly made up his mind.

"Won't we find out if we go look? But Percy had better not see us."

The two ducked down and blended into the Hufflepuff crowd, heading in another direction.

What they failed to notice was that above the teachers' table, Dumbledore was quietly watching them.

Second floor of the castle, Girls' Bathroom.

Hermione sat in an abandoned toilet stall, wiping away her tears. Her eyes were red-rimmed.

"Tap... tap... tap."

Steady footsteps suddenly sounded outside, prompting Hermione to hurriedly wipe the tear tracks from her face. But her eyes were still red, and paired with those prominent front teeth, she looked even more like a rabbit.

"Hermione, are you in there?"

Damon's voice sounded from outside the bathroom.

"Damon? Why are you here?"

Hermione's thoughts were in turmoil. If she had to choose the person she least wanted to see her in such an embarrassing state, it would not be Harry or Ron—it would be Damon!

Even if Ron had mocked her crying without restraint, she would rather that than let the rival she acknowledged see her looking so miserable.

But at that moment, she could no longer control her emotions. Tears that had already dried up surged forth once more in great drops at Damon's concerned words, like a dam bursting.

"Damon—I'm begging you—could you let me be alone for a while?"

Hermione's voice carried dejection, with a hint of giving up on herself.

"Don't worry, Hermione. I won't come in. But as your friend, please let me stay by your side, all right? I'll stand outside the bathroom. I won't look inside, and I won't eavesdrop on you."

Damon's voice remained gentle and steady, making Hermione feel as though she had gained a little strength. Moreover, the implication in his words made her heart tremble violently.

"Friend... You mean, we're friends?"

"Aren't we? Or was I being presumptuous?"

"No—I didn't mean that—" Hermione wiped at the tears still left on her face. "I mean—I never expected—that was how you saw it. You never told me before."

Hermione quietly stood up inside the stall and discreetly smoothed the wrinkles in her clothes—she felt much better now.

"You see, you're always reading, and I'm always practicing Charms. We haven't had much time to chat, have we?"

"Mm, but I think, from now on—" Hermione's brow suddenly knitted tightly. "Damon, do you smell something?"

At that moment, a stench like a mixture of dirty socks and an uncleaned public toilet drifted closer and closer, growing stronger until it filled both their nostrils.

Thump—thump—thump!

Unlike Damon's steady footsteps from before, extraordinarily heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the bathroom, as though some enormous creature was approaching!

"Hermione, come out."

Damon's voice was still calm, but Hermione thought she could detect a faint tremor within it.

The discovery made Hermione's expression change slightly—was Damon afraid?

She quickly stepped out of the bathroom, only to see a huge shadow enter it!

Creak.

As the door locked behind it, the owner of that enormous shadow revealed its savage, terrifying true form—a Troll fully twelve feet tall, with a small bald head like a coconut, appeared before them.

Its short legs were as thick as tree trunks, ending in flat, hard, callused feet. The smell coming from its body was enough to make one vomit!

At that moment, it dragged a thick wooden club across the ground, its gaze already meeting Hermione's.

"Ah—!!!"

Hermione let out a scream of utter terror!

In fact, if Damon had not been there, her scream would have been several times more shrill!

"Hermione, calm down!" Damon tried to make his voice drown hers out. "Crouch in the corner. You'll be fine!"

He did not turn to check on Hermione. Instead, he focused all his attention on the enormous creature before him.

Troll, danger rating XXXX. Under Ministry of Magic classification, 4X meant dangerous, requiring specialized knowledge or skilled wizards to handle.

This one was the most dangerous of the three types of Trolls: a Mountain Troll. It possessed a huge body and astonishing strength, along with tough skin and considerable resistance to magic.

Its only weakness was its low intelligence, though it could still cast some low-level Charms.

Even adult wizards would need to join forces to have any chance of defeating a Mountain Troll.

Yet in the original story, such a powerful and troublesome creature had not only let Harry climb onto its body and forcibly jab a wand up its nose, but had also been easily knocked unconscious by Ron using a Levitation Charm to control its club.

How could that be possible?

Unless Dumbledore was nearby, watching the whole time, Damon could think of no other reasonable explanation.

An excited smile appeared on Damon's face. After practicing against targets day after day for the past two months, he had not lost interest, but he certainly did not mind finding a test subject against which he could go all out—in fact, that was exactly why he had come!

"Then let's have some fun."

Before the Troll could move, Damon looked at the hulking creature before him and swiftly swung his wand:

"Vera Verto!"