Surprise or Scare, Malfoy Lost Sleep

In the middle of the corridor.

The Chimera snaked its body, trying to crawl behind a stone pillar.

But with a flick of Lucien's wand, the grotesque monster instantly reverted to a giant wooden mallet.

Lucien glanced sideways at the direction of the stone pillar.

He smirked as he watched the two figures quickly retreat.

"Alright, let's go back to the dorm. We have class tomorrow."

Lucien put away the mallet and waved his hand to erase the Troll's traces.

Harry, his two friends, and I were stunned for a moment before catching up with Lucien.

There was a moment of silence.

"Lucien, was that Transfiguration just now?"

The one asking the question was Ron, who looked at Lucien with shining eyes.

"Yes, a rather complex Transfiguration."

Upon hearing Lucien's admission, the light in Ron's eyes shone even brighter.

He initially thought that Transfiguration was only to help him learn Alchemy, but he never expected...

Transfiguration can be done in so many ways!

With a wave of his hand, he created a peculiar creature, and in no time at all, he dealt with a Troll!

Ron couldn't even imagine how cool it would be if he could learn this skill.

"Lucien, then, do you think I could..."

Seeing Ron's excited expression, Lucien immediately understood what he meant.

"You want to learn?"

Ron nodded quickly, like a chick pecking at rice.

"Have you finished your homework for today? Have you finished drawing the diagrams?"

These words made Ron's face stiffen, and he scratched his head awkwardly.

"Well, there was an unexpected event today, um, I haven't written much yet..."

Lucien shook his head slightly. Children are prone to acting on impulse. If they see something fun today, they want to learn something new, even though their basic skills still need improvement.

Well, Ron also showed off his mechanical animals to the Weasley Twins, proving that his learning over this period has paid off.

His family's approval rating will also increase, and they might send him even more valuable books and notes after a while. I wonder what kind of magical knowledge they'll be about?

"Ahem, well, Lucien, are you tutoring Ron?"

Hermione finally couldn't help but ask the question; she had wanted to ask it for a long time, and today's events had given her another shock.

Lucien had no intention of hiding this fact.

On the contrary, he was a little puzzled as to why Hermione was only asking now; given the girl's personality, she should have noticed long ago.

Has Harry and Hermione had less interaction lately?

It seems that in the original story, the relationship between these three children truly improved when...

Oh well, I've already changed some things anyway, so this should just be a minor issue and won't have a big impact.

"Yes, that's right."

Lucien's straightforward admission caught Hermione off guard. After a few seconds, she looked at Harry again.

"And Harry, his potion-making skills have improved quite a bit lately, haven't they?"

Lucien nodded.

Seeing this, Hermione bit her lip, wanting to say something, but then became conflicted.

Just as they were about to part ways and return to their respective house lounges, Hermione finally whispered:

"Then, can I learn from you?"

"What do you want to learn? You shouldn't have any weaknesses, right?"

I want to learn everything!

Lucien was not surprised at all by this answer.

Yes, that fits the image of Miss Know-It-All as a top student.

Although herding two sheep is the same as herding three sheep.

But I also have to charge tuition fees, so I can't favor one over the other; knowledge is equal for all.

However, now that we have the Protean Flesh Puppet, the next stage of learning Transfiguration can be put on the agenda.

Living things become dead things, living things become living things, and finally, the Animagus.

I'll be getting busier and busier, so if I could have someone help me save some time...

Lucien looked at Hermione and chuckled softly.

Can you grade homework?

Somewhere in the castle.

Snape limped over and saw Dumbledore and the other professors were there.

His tone was cold, yet trembled slightly, as if he were trying to suppress some kind of pain.

"Why were we suddenly summoned? Aren't we supposed to be searching for the invading Troll?"

As he spoke, Snape glanced at Quirrell, a look of wariness and disgust flashing in his eyes.

Dumbledore stroked his white beard.

"Thank you all for your hard work tonight, but you don't need to look anymore, go back and get some rest."

Dumbledore paused, his tone slightly odd.

"Uh, the Troll, the Troll has already left the castle."

Hearing this, the professors were somewhat incredulous, not believing that such a stupid and savage monster would obediently leave on its own.

"Left? Really? Could someone have hidden her somewhere?"

Snape said in a sinister tone, clearly implying something.

But Dumbledore seemed oblivious to Snape's insinuation that Quirrell was problematic; he simply coughed lightly.

"Ahem, I'm quite certain of that. Mr. Nearly Headless Nick told me he saw the Troll leave with his own eyes."

A gray, semi-transparent figure floated out from the wall; it was the ghost: Nearly Headless Nick.

He straightened his head, which had almost slipped off, glanced at Dumbledore, and only spoke after receiving a signal from the other:

"Yes, that Troll... well, it's left Hogwarts and won't harm the children anymore."

The professors nodded. The portraits and ghosts in the castle served the headmaster; they would never deceive Dumbledore, nor would they have any reason to Dumbledore, as it concerned the young wizards' safety.

After chatting for a while, the professors said goodbye and left to prepare for tomorrow's classes.

Only Dumbledore and Ghost Nearly Headless Nick remained.

After a long pause, Nearly Headless Nick hesitantly said:

"Headmaster, that little wizard named Lucien, the monster he created, is it...?"

Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon glasses, and said with a wry smile:

"Sigh, that child, always giving us surprises or frights."

Slytherin dormitory.

Malfoy lay on the bed, his eyes vacant.

He didn't remember how he got back to the dorm; it seemed like Greengrass had dragged him back?

Images flashed through his mind:

Lucien cast Troll like a conductor...

With a casual wave of his wand, he transformed a wooden mallet into...

A monster!

What a bizarre and terrifying thing it was! It was a creature that shouldn't even exist in this world!

The creature that could easily defeat a Troll was something Lucien conjured up at will!

Finally, finally...

A pair of translucent eyeballs reappeared in Malfoy's mind, finally settling on it.

Malfoy turned over and buried his head deep in the blankets.

He glanced out the window; the sky outside was already faintly brightening.

Malfoy then realized that he didn't seem to have slept at all last night.

Now, it's the second day.

It seems he's going to duel with Lucien today?