Troll

Professor McGonagall listened to Breeze and nodded. "Unicorns don't like interacting with wizards, but any wizard who sees one will be blessed with good luck."

"Your Transfiguration is already quite good, but I don't think you should be starting Human Transfiguration just yet."

Professor McGonagall took out her wand and waved it at Breeze. The unicorn head on his shoulders came to life, its big eyes curiously looking around.

"The dangers of Human Transfiguration are self-evident. Even I wouldn't dare use it lightly, so you'll have to stop for now... It's for your own good. You still have plenty of other work to do before you can learn Human Transfiguration."

McGonagall tapped Breeze on the forehead with her wand. "Stop trying to be clever. I know you're asking me for your next study plan."

Professor McGonagall wasn't really angry. Instead, she turned and wrote on a slip of paper:

Permission for Mr. Breeze Order to borrow Living and Dead Objects in Transfiguration from the Forbidden Section of the library for one month.

—Minerva McGonagall

"You can spend a little longer reading this book. It's rather difficult."

Breeze's eyes gleamed with amusement. He nodded modestly. "I'll study it carefully, Professor McGonagall."

Taking the library slip, Breeze said goodbye to Professor McGonagall, thoroughly satisfied.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. Happy Halloween... Oh, trick or treat!"

Professor McGonagall's eyes crinkled with a smile. She pulled some prepared sweets from her robes. "I got these from Dumbledore. You might like them."

Toffee?

Pumpkin-flavored!

Breeze left Professor McGonagall's office and headed for the first floor. As dusk fell, many of the floating pumpkin decorations in the castle began to glow faintly. Bats and dark clouds circled and drifted through the air, while the jack-o'-lanterns flickered on and off. It all looked incredibly fun. Halloween at the Orphanage had never been this entertaining.

"Oh, look, it's Order. What's he wearing?"

"He's got a head on his head. It's a unicorn!"

Breeze's costume caught the attention of the young wizards in the hall, especially the lifelike Unicorn Mask on his head.

Dressed in a silver unicorn outfit, Breeze stood out. All the attention was more than he could handle, so he hurried over to the Slytherin table. At least there, he could just turn around and talk to Cedric, escaping the strange feeling.

"Your costume is amazing, Breeze! I've seen a real unicorn before!" Cedric was excited. He was dressed in a conventional farmer's outfit, and had even smeared mud on his face to suit the part.

Cedric tried to touch Breeze's Unicorn Mask, but the mask turned away in displeasure and snorted at him.

"It's beautiful."

"Thanks. Professor McGonagall used Transfiguration to make it for me. It looks pretty good."

Pretty good, indeed. As the professors took their seats at the High Table, Dumbledore looked at Breeze thoughtfully, as if trying to figure something out.

Breeze politely returned a puzzled look, as if asking Dumbledore why he was staring at him.

Dumbledore came to his senses. Professor McGonagall said something to him, presumably telling him what Breeze had said to her earlier. Dumbledore let go of his doubts, winked at Breeze, then looked away.

"Looks like Dumbledore knows," Breeze thought, feeling more at ease. But what would Dumbledore do? There was actually a monster in the Forbidden Forest. Breeze had already decided to stop looking for Trance Grass for a while and turn his attention to the Forbidden Section, where he could search for books about souls.

Before that, though, he had to return Quirrell's notebook. He was confident he could resist the urge to touch it, but keeping it would only make Quirrell watch him. Meeting him alone was too dangerous. Maybe Breeze could slip the book through the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office while Quirrell was away.

Like now!

Breeze took off the Unicorn Mask, stroked its horn, and handed it to Cedric.

"Don't just stare at it. It's yours. But its magic will only last three days before it turns back into an ordinary hood."

The unicorn drew too much attention. It wouldn't be convenient if he wanted to sneak away.

"Oh, you're giving it to me? You shouldn't have..."

Ignoring Cedric's protests, Breeze put the mask on his head, waved goodbye, then cast a Desillusionment Charm on himself and left the hall.

Cedric shrugged helplessly. Then he saw the little Hufflepuffs crowding around him, all eager to touch the unicorn on his head.

"Careful, little badgers." Cedric was kind enough to lower his head for them. Because of the Desillusionment Charm, hardly anyone noticed Breeze leaving the table. Even those who did didn't interfere. He was free to go where he wanted.

Quietly retrieving Quirrell's notebook from the Owlery, Breeze hurried toward the third floor. But on the fourth floor, he heard footsteps.

Breeze ducked into a corner, cast both a Desillusionment Charm and a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and saw Professor Quirrell's back.

Breeze lowered his gaze slightly, looking only at Quirrell's heels. People were more perceptive than one might think, and Breeze didn't want to be spotted.

Follow him?

Quirrell seemed to be heading toward the Forbidden Corridor on the fourth floor. At the start of term, Dumbledore had forbidden students from entering. It was a place where they would meet a gruesome death.

Breeze would have to be an idiot to follow him.

Breeze was about to wait for Quirrell to go farther away before leaving when Quirrell suddenly stopped.

Quirrell glanced back nervously. Breeze thought he'd been spotted, but Quirrell turned and hid in a nearby corner.

"Tap, tap, tap!" Footsteps approached. It had to be Snape.

What rotten luck.

Breeze grumbled to himself: Were these two playing some kind of chase-and-hide game? Couldn't they let him leave first?

Snape stopped outside the forbidden area on the fourth floor, paused for a moment, then strode into the corridor without hesitation. Quirrell didn't emerge until long after Snape had left.

"Master, Master, did Snape find out?"

"Yes. I'll get the Sorcerer's Stone, no matter what."

Breeze was close to Quirrell and faintly heard the words "Sorcerer's Stone" and "Master." Before he could react, Quirrell hurried away, sweating profusely and looking pained.

"Please, don't be angry. Snape doesn't trust me..."

Quirrell left, apparently heading for the third floor.

"Master? The Sorcerer's Stone?" Breeze looked down the corridor. It was dark and gloomy. Then he heard a dog bark, followed by the sound of Snape closing a door.

Get out of here!

Breeze ran toward the fifth floor. Tonight wasn't a good time to return the book to Quirrell. Maybe he could find another way to make Quirrell take his eyes off him completely.

Snape really was an excellent professor!

When Breeze heard Quirrell say that Snape didn't trust him, he'd come up with an idea. He could get Snape to take the pressure off him and help him break free from Quirrell.

Quirrell was clearly afraid of Snape. As for the contract, as long as Breeze avoided getting entangled with Quirrell, he'd find a chance to get rid of it.

Breeze returned to the Owlery and went to bed, unaware that tonight would keep the other young wizards awake.

"Troll!"

"They actually let a troll in!" In the Slytherin Common Room, Malfoy said to Pansy and Daphne, "Dumbledore must be senile. They're terrified of one troll, when any older student who's seriously studied magic could run circles around it."

Pansy chimed in, "They made us come back from the Halloween feast in the Great Hall, completely ruining all the effort we put into our costumes. Malfoy looked so dashing as the Elf Prince..."

Pansy blushed as she spoke, then sneaked another glance at Malfoy's proud, handsome face.

"Let's hope Hogwarts handles things more carefully from now on. Filch should be fired."

The other Houses were much the same as Slytherin. The young wizards who were frightened were mostly first-years, too young to know any better. They'd only heard about how terrifying trolls were and hadn't learned much else. The older students, however, found Dumbledore's decision baffling. A troll would be a challenge for them, but the professors could handle it. There was no need to make such a fuss.

"Has Cedric come back?" a Prefect asked in Hufflepuff House.

"Not yet. He said he was going to find Breeze Order. Order left the hall during the feast."

The Prefect paced anxiously in the Hufflepuff Common Room, which was full of Pumpkin Chairs. Finally, he smacked his fist into his palm. "I'm going to find Professor Sprout. You all stay here."

With that, the Prefect left the common room.

"What on earth are you playing at?"

A foul stench filled the second-floor Girls' Lavatory. A huge troll lay sprawled on the floor, a large lump swollen on its head. It looked as though it had been knocked unconscious.

Professor McGonagall stood furiously in the doorway, glaring at Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Cedric inside the lavatory. Snape and Quirrell stood behind her.

Snape went to inspect the troll, while Quirrell cowered timidly to one side. Professor McGonagall composed herself. Once she saw that the children weren't injured, she said coldly, "You're lucky it didn't kill you. Why didn't you stay in your dormitories like you were told?"

Then she looked at Cedric in confusion.

"I thought Mr. Diggory was a well-behaved young wizard. I've heard so much praise for you from every House and from the professors, but today you..."

Snape looked over at them too. Hermione, the source of all the trouble, hurriedly stepped forward.

"Don't be like that, Professor McGonagall. They came looking for me... and Breeze, too. Oh, Breeze isn't here!"

Hermione's eyes widened. She hadn't thought about Breeze because of the troll!

Cedric knew Hermione was Breeze's friend, and Harry and the others had said they'd made her cry and that she was hiding in the lavatory. That was why Cedric had wondered whether Breeze had gone to find her, and followed Harry and the others.

Now it seemed Breeze wasn't there.

Cedric looked worried. "The news about the troll hadn't gotten out yet when Breeze left the hall. He also gave me his Unicorn Mask."

The Unicorn Mask was now covered in quite a bit of dust. It looked as though it had gotten dirty when Cedric and Harry's group fought the troll.

McGonagall took a look, then turned to Hermione.

"Miss Granger!"