After delivering his message to Zhang Xiao with a grave expression, Dumbledore gently patted the little bird curled up on his shoulder and said softly:
"Fawkes, stay here and watch. If things get truly dangerous, go and help them."
Fawkes stared at Dumbledore with his golden eyes, then suddenly pecked him. It wasn't hard, but it made his feelings clear.
Dumbledore chuckled softly, then turned and left.
I really must thank Tom for finding that troll. Testing five people at once...
The weather today... what a lovely night it is.
Right then, Zhang Xiao wanted nothing more than to curse.
Old bee! Old bee! Old bee!
Was Dumbledore a good man?
Without question. He was a great man, a pillar of the wizarding world, its steadfast anchor.
But that didn't stop him from being rational to the point of coldness. (Note 1)
To put it in Chinese terms, Dumbledore possessed great compassion, great courage, and great love, but his compassion was directed toward a vast collective, not any particular individual.
For certain goals of his own, he could leave Harry to suffer at his aunt's house.
For the sake of his plans, he could even stake his own life.
This was a man who had believed in "For the Greater Good" in his youth!
Even if he had grown old and begun to believe in "love," that didn't stop him from doing something like this.
Human beings had always been complicated mixtures, far beyond what one or two labels could describe.
He just dumped several people's lives into my hands. Did he even ask whether I could handle it?
Zhang Xiao felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, chilling him to the bone.
His earlier calm sense of security had been replaced by tension. This was his first time facing danger on his own, and Harry and Ron were still children. They couldn't offer much help.
In other words, he could only rely on himself! (Fawkes yawned.)
Nothing remained in the troll's potato-sized brain but fury.
Ever since he had spotted those little runts, he had felt as though he were stuck in a bog. His movements were painfully slow, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch them.
The troll couldn't understand it, but he was angry. Driven by that anger, he desperately pursued the irritating little creatures.
Suddenly, the force hindering him vanished completely. The troll, who had been straining with all his might against it, unleashed far more strength than usual.
It was like suddenly jumping from half speed to one and a half times normal speed. The monster, who had still been some distance from Neville, reached him in a single stride.
Neville stared blankly at the troll, utterly petrified. All he could do was watch as the troll drew back his arm like a baseball player and swung viciously at him.
The wooden club swept through a semicircle with a terrifying whistle.
"Neville!" Harry and Ron shouted, desperately firing sparks and Minor Jinxes at the troll.
At that critical instant, two voices rang out together:
"Protego!"
"Protego!"
Two sharp sounds like shattering glass came from the point where the club struck. Though neither Shield Charm was strong, they provided enough of a buffer to send Neville flying before the massive club could hit him.
By sheer luck, he avoided the wooden club that followed.
The troll's swing missed. Dragged along by his own tremendous strength, he spun several times with the club before crashing hard to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Xiao hurriedly looked back.
Ron was the first to cry out, looking as astonished as if he had caught Snape kissing the troll:
"Malfoy???"
Malfoy stood there with his wand raised, panting heavily. No one knew how deeply he had been shaken that day when he watched Zhang Xiao defeat the entire first year alone.
Nor did anyone know how hard he had worked just to keep Zhang Xiao within sight.
Though the Shield Charm he had cast was weak, he had successfully cast it.
As a first-year!
Malfoy lowered his wand with a trembling hand, then suddenly shouted himself hoarse, as though trying to bolster his own courage:
"I am Draco Malfoy! The sole heir of the Malfoy family!
"One of the twenty-eight pure-blood families!
"Zhang, you were right!"
He took a deep breath. Tears streamed down his thin, pale cheeks as he raised his wand and charged toward the troll:
"Proud pure-bloods never trail behind anyone!"
Zhang Xiao froze for a moment, then laughed with delight. During one of their casual chats, he had told Malfoy the story of The Battle of the Five Armies.
He had mentioned in passing how the elves leaped out from behind the dwarves, praising it as true pride, true nobility.
He hadn't expected Malfoy to remember.
"Ron, go check on Neville. Harry! Keep yourself safe. Let's go!"
Zhang Xiao immediately tucked his wand away. The faint golden light covering his body seemed to respond to his renewed spirit, suddenly shining brighter.
The troll had only just begun trying to get up. Zhang Xiao let out a fierce roar, and the dirt beneath his feet sprayed outward under the force of his burst of power, leaving two small pits.
He shot toward the troll like an arrow loosed from a bow. A slight flick of his hands brought two Fire Talismans into them, and in the instant he darted past-
The Fire Talismans were already stuck to the troll's back.
Harry, too, was swept up in the atmosphere. He pressed his lips together, his green eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
With a shout, he grabbed the troll's head. Ignoring the nauseating stench, he shoved his wand straight up the troll's nostril.
Sparks fired inward!
The sparks from a wand didn't have much destructive power, but what if they were fired into a vulnerable nasal cavity?
The troll let out an agonizing howl. He shook his head wildly, dropped his club, and slapped at his face with palms as large as the mouth of a well.
Harry was flung far away, but that was enough.
During that time, Zhang Xiao had stuck more than twenty Fire Talismans onto the troll.
Mustering the last of his strength, he pulled two Thunder Talismans from his Heaven and Earth Bag and leaped up like a nimble monkey.
His feet tapped swiftly against the troll's body, launching him upward. He performed a graceful backflip through the air, vaulting over the troll's head.
In the instant he passed over, he slapped down both hands, sticking the Thunder Talismans onto the troll's head.
With his back to the troll, he formed sword gestures with both hands:
"Art... is an explosion!"
A chain of flames erupted across the troll's body, accompanied by two deafening thunderclaps.
The troll let out his worst scream yet. The Fire Talismans hadn't actually hurt him as much as one might have imagined.
But the Thunder Talismans stuck to his ears had inflicted unexpected damage.
The troll's eyes rolled upward, visibly beginning to show their whites. Disgusting blood flowed from his ears, yet the monster, with his extraordinary vitality, still refused to fall.
Zhang Xiao could even hear his own heart pounding violently. The Golden Light Spell greatly enhanced all of its user's abilities, but it came at a price: stamina was consumed at twice the rate.
So this is my limit... Zhang Xiao looked around.
Malfoy was still stubbornly firing weak spells at the troll, like Don Quixote raising his lance to charge a "giant."
Harry's wand was still stuck in the troll's nostril. Harry himself had been flung into a tree and was now struggling to get up.
Just a little more! Just a little more!
Move! Zhang Xiao roared inwardly, trying to squeeze one last ounce of strength from his exhausted body.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The troll's club seemed to lose all its weight, floating up as lightly as a feather.
It swiftly rose several meters above the troll's head, then slammed down.
With a muffled thud, a huge lump swelled on the troll's head at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Like a drunkard, he swayed a few times. After so many blows, he finally collapsed heavily to the ground.
Ron stood there, staring wide-eyed at what he had done, his wand still held high. Still shaken, he said:
"Guys... I made it in time, right?"
Harry flopped onto his back in the mud and gave a weak laugh:
"Ron! Well done! Perfect timing!"
Malfoy seemed to lose all his strength as well. He slumped limply to the ground and began sobbing quietly again.
Everything that had happened tonight had violated practically every pure-blood rule his father had taught him.
Yet he felt an inexplicable exhilaration.
Zhang Xiao let out a long sigh of relief and sat down against a large tree. At last, it was over.
In the end, Ron had delivered the finishing blow with a Levitation Charm he had never successfully cast before.
That really had been asking a lot of him, yet he had actually succeeded this time. Zhang Xiao had heard that Hermione had spent ages criticizing his pronunciation.
Huh? Wait! Zhang Xiao's eyes suddenly widened. He stared at Ron in bewilderment, carefully replaying everything that had just happened.
Ron's incantation... it sounded like he was still saying it wrong!!
Before you continue