Halloween Incident

That evening, when Skylar and Draco's group entered the Great Hall, they saw a thousand bats fluttering around the walls and ceiling, while another thousand swirled above the dining tables like low clouds of black mist, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker. Delicious food suddenly appeared on the golden plates, just as it had at the opening feast.

As everyone ate and chatted, Professor Quirrell suddenly rushed headlong into the Great Hall. His large turban was crooked on his head, and his face was filled with terror.

Everyone stared at him as he staggered to Dumbledore's chair, leaned against the table, and panted, "Troll—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know." With that, he collapsed onto the floor and fainted.

The Great Hall immediately erupted into chaos. Dumbledore had to send several bursts of purple fireworks from the tip of his wand before everyone quieted down. "Prefects," he said in a deep voice, "lead the students of your Houses back to their dormitories at once!"

Gemma Farley, Slytherin's prefect, rose to her feet, and the young Slytherins formed an orderly line as they headed back to the Slytherin dormitories in the dungeons. After saying a few words to Draco, Skylar quietly slipped away from the line. Draco knew what his younger brother was capable of; a mere Troll could not possibly hurt him, so he did not ask where Skylar intended to go.

Relying on his memories of the original story, Skylar quickly ran to the girls' bathroom on the second floor. The Troll had not arrived yet, let alone Harry and Ron.

Skylar shoved open the bathroom door and called Hermione's name. Hermione was startled to see him burst into the girls' bathroom. Skylar said, "Hermione, I don't have time to explain. There's a Troll outside. We have to get out of here quickly!"

Perhaps she had cried for too long, or perhaps she had been crouching there for too long, but Hermione could not react at once. Skylar grabbed her hand and rushed toward the bathroom door. They had barely burst out when they came face-to-face with the Troll. Hermione let out a thoroughly ill-timed scream, drawing the Troll's full attention to them.

Skylar had thought that, in his first real battle, he would feel panic, fear, nervousness, and the like. Yet to his surprise, he felt none of those things. Instead, a warm current suddenly surged through his chest, and his heart seemed filled with soaring determination and unyielding fighting spirit—Skylar's adventurer's soul from his previous life was burning. After reading so many books and studying magic for so long, now that he could finally put it to use, Skylar was so excited he wanted to shout and vent all the emotions in his heart.

Skylar raised his wand. The results of countless nights of hard practice with the House Elf Dobby were perfectly displayed at that moment—Skylar's wand fired a Conjunctivitis Curse that struck the Troll squarely in both eyes!

Blinded, the Troll stood there at a loss.

Skylar would not let such a fine opportunity slip away. Focusing all his concentration, he aimed his wand at the club in the Troll's hand and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club suddenly flew from the Troll's hand, rising higher and higher into the air. Under Skylar's control, it moved behind the Troll's head—that was the Troll's weak point. Then Skylar slashed his wand sharply downward, and the club hurtled into the back of the Troll's head like a falling meteor, unleashing an earthshaking boom.

The Troll swayed in place as though performing an exaggerated dance, stumbled a few times, and fell face-first onto the floor.

Hermione seemed frozen with fright, standing there without moving. Skylar could not help saying, "Miss Granger, you weren't scared, were you? You... are a Gryffindor, after all!"

At Skylar's words, Hermione flushed and pouted. "I wasn't scared, Mr. Malfoy. I was just wondering why the Levitation Charm you used was different from the one I learned in class."

Before Skylar could answer, loud footsteps suddenly echoed from the distance. Professor McGonagall led the way, with Snape close behind her, while Quirrell hurried along at the rear.

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe you owe me an explanation." McGonagall adjusted her glasses, cold anger in her voice.

Snape bent down to inspect the smooth wounds on the Troll and fell into thought. As for Quirrell, upon seeing the Troll, he gave a terrified cry, collapsed to the floor, and trembled as he clutched his forehead and chest.

At that moment, a quiet voice came from the shadows. "Please don't, Professor McGonagall. He came looking for me." Hermione finally struggled forward. "I came looking for the Troll because I... I thought I could handle it on my own. You know, because I'd read about them in books and knew a lot about them."

Skylar sighed and cut in, "Miss Granger, thank you for your good intentions, but you don't need to do this."

Skylar turned to McGonagall and explained, "The truth is, Professor, I heard on my way to dinner that Miss Granger was in the girls' bathroom on the second floor. Something had happened, and she was in a bad mood, so she had stayed here instead of going to dinner. When Professor Quirrell announced in the Great Hall that there was a Troll, I thought Miss Granger might not know about it yet. If she remained in the bathroom, she might be in danger. Though she is a Gryffindor, she is still my classmate, so I hurried here to escort her safely back to Gryffindor Tower. Who would have thought we would happen to run into the Troll?"

By then, Snape had finished examining the Troll. He straightened up and looked at Skylar. "You used the Conjunctivitis Curse and the Levitation Charm? You already understand the principles behind advanced applications of the Levitation Charm?"

"Yes, Professor," Skylar replied calmly. "I can freely control an object's position while it is suspended in midair, and I can also make it attack by dropping at high speed—Professor Flitwick knows about this. He even asked me to write a paper on my findings and submit it to Spell Innovation, and invited me to join his Charms Club..."

McGonagall's gaze softened somewhat. "Mr. Malfoy, it seems you truly are the most gifted wizard I have ever seen. We will leave the matter at that today, but I must still say that fighting a Troll is extremely dangerous for a first-year student. I hope that next time, you will act with greater caution and composure, and consider matters more thoroughly."

"Understood. Thank you, Professor!" Skylar was secretly delighted. It seemed that top students really did receive different treatment. In the original story, when the professors spoke of Ron, they unanimously believed he had only defeated the Troll through luck.

Standing nearby, Hermione heard Skylar receive praise from McGonagall and learn that he had joined the Charms Club—she had heard that he had joined McGonagall's Transfiguration Club even earlier—and felt overwhelmed by frustration. She had already worked incredibly hard. Why was the gap between her and Skylar only growing wider?

Seeing Skylar's properly chastened expression, McGonagall's tone eased. "However, though your actions were not particularly prudent, you acted to save a student from another House, and in the end you defeated the Troll with exceptional skill. Twenty points to Slytherin. Do not let this happen again."

After parting ways with Skylar, Hermione discovered Harry and Ron hiding around a corner on her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Ron said nothing—but Harry admitted to Hermione that they had come looking for her despite the danger because they were worried something might happen to her. Then, under Harry's gaze, Ron apologized to Hermione as well.

After this incident, Hermione's relationship with Harry and Ron improved, and the three became good friends. Hermione no longer cared quite so much about breaking school rules, which made her much more likable. Besides, Harry and Ron often needed Hermione's help with their heavy homework.

The only disagreement among the three was Skylar. Harry and Ron still disliked the Malfoy family and the other Slytherin students. Ron believed that Hermione had merely been used by Skylar as a tool to attract attention and earn House points during the Troll incident;

Harry did not go quite that far, but he still could not change his opinion of any Slytherin student;

As for calm and rational Hermione, she had developed some complicated feelings toward Skylar... There was no denying Skylar's excellence. Moreover, students from other Houses said that, unlike the other arrogant and overbearing Slytherins, Skylar was actually very approachable, gentle, and polite. They just did not know why he repeatedly ended up standing against Gryffindor.

Skylar knew nothing of these matters. Of course, even if he had known, he would not have cared.