Defeating the Troll

The four of them headed down the stairs toward the Dining Room. Apart from Will, all three young Wizards felt that something was wrong. It was Halloween Eve, yet an eerie silence filled the entire Castle.

Aside from the occasional flutter of bat wings, there was barely a sound in the enormous Castle. Will put it down to Hogwarts having excellent soundproofing. He had remembered how events were supposed to unfold, too: the students from all four houses should already have returned to their dormitories.

In that strange quiet, Sylvia and the other two stayed close behind Will, as though afraid of running into something terrifying. Then, as they reached a lower floor, they heard a noise from beneath the stairs.

They looked toward it. Below them on the Spiral Staircase, two young Wizards were running.

"Harry, slow down! I can't keep up!" Ron panted. "Watch out for that staircase! It's about to move!"

Harry leaped across a step, sweat making his Glasses slide halfway down his nose. "If we don't hurry, Hermione will be in danger! There's a Troll in the Underground Classroom, Ron. A Troll! If you hadn't said those things, she wouldn't still be crying in the Girls' Bathroom!"

Harry had more stamina than Ron, perhaps from being chased by Dudley and the others when he was little.

Higher up the Spiral Staircase, the four of them exchanged looks.

"There's a Troll in the Underground Classroom? They're going to rescue me?" Hermione was quick to piece it together. She had no idea where the Troll had come from, but it was obvious the two boys still thought she was crying in the Girls' Bathroom and were rushing to save her.

"Forget them. We're going straight to the Dining Room." Sylvia linked her arm through Hermione's, looking ready to stand up for her friend. "Let those two idiots spend Halloween with the Troll."

"But... but it's a Troll!" Neville seemed to remember something horrifying. "Trolls eat children!"

"Troll. XXXX-class Magical Creature. I can't imagine what's magical about them, but they're described as fearsome creatures standing twelve feet tall and weighing a ton. Powerful, stupid, unpredictable, and prone to violence." Hermione lived up to her reputation as a walking encyclopedia, reciting the entry from memory.

If Will remembered correctly, that came from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"Oh no! It'll smash them into Halloween meat pies!" Hermione said anxiously. "We have to warn them."

She was not a hardhearted girl. Most days, her haughty manner only hid how afraid she was of falling behind.

"You're right, Hermione! I'm going to warn Harry." Neville was worried too. Ron was only a casual friend, but Harry had always looked out for him. He had even clashed with Malfoy in class over Neville's Remembrall.

Hermione slipped free of Sylvia's arm and ran down the stairs with Neville.

"Hermione!" Sylvia called after her, worried.

Will shrugged and pulled Sylvia along. "Come on. You don't want to watch the Troll pound them into Halloween meat pies and then have to scrape them up, do you?"

"Ugh—" Whatever image came to mind made Sylvia shudder. She followed the other two with Will.

When they reached the underground Corridor, Will saw Harry and Ron sprinting toward them. The Troll was chasing them with its Club. Harry and Ron were fast, but one of the Troll's strides covered several of theirs. It smashed things as it went, leaving the whole Corridor a wreck, rather like someone swatting a cockroach at home.

Except this particular "cockroach" was the Wizarding World's Chosen One.

As the Troll knocked over a suit of armor with a tremendous crash, Harry yelled for Ron to speed up.

"Run faster, Ron!"

"Easy for you to say!" Ron's face was as red as his hair as he panted behind Harry.

At least the two had not been foolish enough to fight the Troll after discovering Hermione was not in the Girls' Bathroom. The Troll, however, had no intention of letting them go.

"That's Hermione!" Harry suddenly spotted Hermione and Neville coming down the stairs. "And Neville!"

"Run! Both of you, run!" Ron felt as if his lungs were about to burst. The thing behind him was fast and reeked, and worse, Hermione—the girl he had come to save—was standing at the foot of the stairs, right back in danger.

"Neville! Get Hermione out of here!"

Sylvia and Will had just come down the stairs and heard him.

Seeing two more people arrive, Harry nearly choked with panic. "Go back upstairs! Hurry!"

But Will seemed not to hear. He even stepped in front of the others, making Harry more desperate. Will might be a Slytherin, but Harry had never thought he was a bad person. He had also heard that Will was unpopular in Slytherin, and he liked him well enough.

"Harry, don't forget you're a Wizard."

Then Harry thought he saw Will's Silver-Gray Eyes brighten for a moment.

Will activated [Wizard's Eye]. He could clearly see the Magic within the Troll. It was a strange sight: thick, scattered strands wrapped around a tiny core.

The thick strands came from the Troll's skin. Will realized that, as the book had said, this was why Trolls were classified as Magical Creatures. Skin containing that coarse-stranded Magic had exceptionally high resistance to spells. Magic cast directly on a Troll would be far less effective.

Then I'll use Magic to create a physical effect. Will instantly knew how to deal with it and raised his Wand.

Harry watched Will give his Wand a light flick. For a moment, he thought he understood what Slytherins meant by "elegance."

"Aguamenti!"

With a sweep of Will's Wand, water surged out. A stream as thick as an arm slammed into the Troll's chest, and the spray instantly hid its tiny head. With a head no bigger than a cocoa bean, the Troll lost track of which way it was going and slowed at once.

Poor Ron, though. Running behind Harry, he was soaked over most of his body by the spray. It was October 31, and after sweating through the chase, he immediately began to shiver.

But when they saw the Troll held back, Harry and Ron rallied and ran the rest of the way to the others, gasping for breath.

Unable to see, the Troll swung its Club wildly, smashing nearby suits of armor and statues. Crashes rumbled through the Corridor.

Will saw his chance and stopped Aguamenti.

"Glacius!"

Pale blue cold streamed from the tip of Will's Wand and struck the drenched Troll. Within a few breaths, broad sheets of ice had formed across its body.

Will paid particular attention to its head. That cocoa-bean-sized skull was soon encased in a thick layer of ice.

Even that failed to bring the Troll down—a testament to how tough it was.

Fortunately, it was every bit as stupid as the books said. The ice made it harder and harder to breathe, and then it charged headfirst into the Corridor wall. Will saw it clearly: the impact nearly drove the Troll's head all the way into its chest.

The Troll fell onto the ice. A thin layer now coated almost the entire Corridor.

"Hah... hah... Let's go. It's too dangerous here." Harry still felt unbearably hot. Each breath he exhaled seemed to carry scorching Fireworks; only the cold air filling his lungs brought him any relief.

Beside him, Ron was shaking like a leaf, his teeth chattering. When he spoke, he sounded like Quirrell. "Y-yes, it's t-too... too cold here. L-let's hurry... hurry back."

"We might have to wait a bit before we can leave." Neville tugged on Will's robe.

Will did not need the warning. He had already heard footsteps on the stairs. He turned and saw Professor McGonagall at the front of the group. Her face was deathly pale, but she was plainly furious—