Snape's Change of Heart

When Hermione came to her senses, Kyle was gone, leaving only Harry and Ron looking at her with worried expressions.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked worriedly. "Did you see Troll just now?"

"What... I mean, of course not." Hermione shook her head. "Troll are at least ten feet tall and they reek of stench. I would run away if I saw one."

"That's true." Harry scratched his head, realizing his question had been a bit silly.

If they really encountered Troll, Hermione and Kyle wouldn't be there unscathed.

Even if they were exceptionally skilled, they couldn't possibly defeat a monster that was over ten feet tall.

it's out of the question.

Harry sniffed and said, "I'm so glad you're alright. Let's get out of here quickly."

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he had been able to faintly smell a foul odor since earlier, which made him very uneasy.

The Troll might be nearby and could come at any moment.

"I think you're overreacting, Harry. Maybe there aren't Troll at all."

Ron, however, was not so worried. He thought for a moment and said, "This is probably just a joke Professor Quirrell is using to lighten the mood. Maybe the professors will come and tell us to go back to the Great Hall soon."

Don't forget, this is Hogwarts... Dumbledore is here.

"You're not wrong."

Hearing Dumbledore's name reassured Harry somewhat, but he still felt something was off.

"Forget it, let's hurry back..."

Harry said, "We can't let the professors see us here until we figure things out, or we'll definitely get points deducted."

Afterward, the three of them walked quickly toward the Gryffindor Tower.

Along the way, Harry and Ron discussed their encounter with Snape and agreed that he was going upstairs to the forbidden area.

Hermione, however, didn't say a word and silently followed behind, seemingly lost in thought.

As they were about to cross the corridor, she suddenly asked, "Did you two come here specifically to find me?"

"Yes, we heard from Parvati Patil that you locked yourself in the bathroom."

Harry said, "Since you didn't go to the Great Hall in the Troll, so we thought we'd come and tell you."

"But it seems it was just a false alarm," Ron shrugged.

Hermione nodded slightly.

After a long silence, she whispered, "Thank you..."

"It's nothing, it's what friends should do."

"Just don't lecture us again next time."

"Hey, Ron ..."

"Fine, I won't say."

The three left the corridor and continued towards the stairs, but just as they turned the corner, they heard voices coming from ahead.

"I didn't see any Troll, Professor."

Not far away, Kyle stood among a group of professors, explaining innocently, "And there's a reason why I didn't attend the banquet on time."

"Then tell us about it."

Snape drawled, "What could be so important that you could forget the Halloween party?"

Upon hearing that nightmarish voice, Harry instinctively shuddered and turned to run away.

But that's clearly impossible.

"You three, come here!"

Professor McGonagall said coldly, "The principal made it very clear before that everyone should go back to their dormitories. Didn't you all hear that?"

Snape gave Harry a sharp, piercing look, and Harry instantly forgot the excuse he had just come up with.

Harry stared at the ground, his mind blank. Whether it was points deducted or detention, he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

At that moment, Hermione whispered, "Please don't, Professor McGonagall, they're looking for me."

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall frowned.

Hermione stepped forward, head bowed, and said, "I've come to find Troll, to see what they look like... I've only read about them in books, so I'm very curious about them."

Ron's eyes widened. Hermione Granger had lied to the professor?

"They came to find me specifically because they were worried about my safety."

Harry and Ron tried their best to act as if they were already familiar with the story.

"If that's the case..." Professor McGonagall gazed at them, then said thoughtfully, "Miss Granger, you silly girl, real Troll are far more dangerous than you imagine. You should be glad you didn't encounter one."

"Yes, you're right..."

Hermione lowered her head.

Harry was speechless, and Hermione actually lied and said she had broken school rules to get them out of trouble.

It was like Snape suddenly started handing out candy—it was unbelievable.

"Miss Granger, Gryffindor will lose five points because of this," Professor McGonagall said. "I'm very disappointed in you. You'd better go back to Gryffindor Tower now."

Then she looked at Harry and Ron.

"It's you two again. I remember you were still in detention for going to the Seventh Floor in the middle of the night to dismantle the armor, and you've already broken the school rules again?"

"No!" Ron explained, blushing. "There was something hidden inside that armor, I saw it..."

"But all I saw at the time was you destroying it, and there was nothing inside."

Professor McGonagall shook her head and said, "Alright, I don't want to pursue this matter any further. Let's not do it again."

Furthermore, because of your actions in helping Miss Granger today, your previous confinement is lifted, and you may now leave."

Harry and Ron were overjoyed and hurriedly passed behind the professor, going upstairs without a word.

Kyle wanted to go with them, but Snape blocked his way.

"I think I didn't hear your explanation."

Kyle was completely baffled by Snape, who seemed to be blocking his way.

No, Harry is right here, why is he still bothering with him?

He changed his mind about Lily so quickly?

Left with no other option, Kyle could only retreat to his original position and say:

"Because Professor Sprout rewarded me with the shell of an Armored Pumpkin, I've been studying it in my dorm and that's why I forgot about the party."

"Hmph, Armored Pumpkin ..." Snape sniffed and said, "Since you've been in the dorms the whole time, why do you smell like a Troll?"

"Is there?"

Kyle remained calm and said, "I think this is probably the smell of compost... You know, it's everywhere in the greenhouse."

Of course, if you don't believe me, you can take my robe back and examine it carefully."

As he spoke, he began to remove his long robe.

Kyle knew perfectly well that he had already used a cleansing charm on himself, so there was no way he could smell bad.

Snape was lying to him.