The troll attacks

Hogwarts.

The annual Halloween celebration had finally arrived, and as tradition dictated, a merry feast was underway in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

Hermione looked at the table piled with sweets and grimaced.

Was she going to get diabetes before she even finished learning magic?

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall burst open. Quirrell rushed inside in a panic, shouting, "Troll! There's a troll in the dungeons!"

The next second, Quirrell's eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

After a second of silence, terrified screams filled the Great Hall.

The young wizards were frightened out of their wits by the news.

Here's a joke.

Hogwarts was the safest place in the world.

Amid the uproar, Hermione gently wiped her mouth, her movements unhurried and as elegant as ever.

Finally here?

Hermione felt the syringe in her pocket.

Glancing at Quirrell sprawled on the floor, Hermione shook her head slightly.

What terrible acting.

No matter how timid you were, you were still the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. One of the main things you taught was how to deal with dark creatures like trolls.

Yet a single troll had scared you half to death. If she were Dumbledore, she would already be getting suspicious.

No... Hermione narrowed her eyes at the thought.

Maybe... he had been suspicious all along.

Looking at the gravity-defying turban that had stayed firmly in place even when Quirrell fell, Hermione suddenly had an idea.

What would happen if she yanked that turban off right now?

"Silence!!!"

A powerful shout rang through the Great Hall.

Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet.

"Prefects, lead the students of your respective houses back to their dormitories. The teachers and I will go down to the dungeons."

At the sound of his calm yet firm voice, the students instinctively stopped screaming, a sense of reassurance washing over them.

"Gryffindor, follow me!" called Ron's older brother, Percy Weasley.

A crowd of students followed him out of the Great Hall.

Seeing this, the other houses followed suit.

"Hufflepuff, over here!"

"Ravenclaw, follow me!"

"Slytherin!"

With great effort, Hermione resisted the urge to do something reckless and followed the crowd outside.

The mood along the way was rather tense.

"How did a troll get in?"

Finally, Harry couldn't help asking in a whisper.

"Trolls are stupid. It wouldn't have found its own way to Hogwarts. Maybe someone's playing a prank."

Ron looked unconcerned.

"Want to know?" Hermione suddenly asked.

Harry nodded eagerly, then his eyes lit up. "Hermione, do you know?"

Hermione glanced at the group ahead, deliberately slowing her steps as she gave the two boys a meaningful look.

Harry and Ron caught on.

Soon, the three of them had successfully fallen behind.

"Come on. We'll know once we take a look." Hermione flicked her hair and gave them a mysterious smile.

"But..."

"Enough talking. Are you two coming or not?"

"...Yes."

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and Hermione turned toward the corridor.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, not at all surprised by Hermione's behavior. They shrugged and hurried after her.

Heavy rain fell outside, accompanied by rolling thunder. The depths of the corridor were deserted, making it feel chillingly eerie.

"Um... Hermione..." Ron was frightened and wanted to back out. "Maybe we should just leave..."

"Sure. Off you go, then."

Hermione nodded, but her steps never faltered. She strode forward as though she were about to be late for class.

Harry glanced at Ron, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he chose to follow.

Ron stood rooted to the spot. Seeing the two of them getting farther and farther away, he steeled himself and chased after them.

After rounding a corner, Hermione suddenly stopped.

Ron was about to ask what was wrong when Harry's eyes widened, and he quickly clapped a hand over Ron's mouth.

A flash of lightning revealed a huge dark figure roaming at the far end of the corridor.

The figure was as tall as two or three adults stacked together. Its enormous body almost filled the corridor, and it dragged a huge wooden club in one hand.

"I guess the troll's already left the dungeons..." Ron murmured.

"It's gone into the girls' bathroom... Wait, Hermione, what are you doing?"

Harry paled as Hermione headed straight for the girls' bathroom, drawing her wand as she walked.

Too late to stop her, Harry gritted his teeth and followed her inside.

"You're both insane..." Ron muttered, though his feet dutifully carried him after them.

Sensing movement behind it, the troll slowly turned around and found three tiny figures standing before it.

Fear spread across Harry's and Ron's faces.

Its destructive instincts drove the troll to raise its club, which was as thick as a bucket.

As the club came whistling down, their feet seemed rooted to the floor, refusing to obey them. Neither could move an inch.

Hermione's going to get us killed!

For an instant, that was the only thought in their minds.

In short, they deeply regretted this.

They never should have followed Hermione, who looked so cool and aloof but was utterly mad underneath.

No, they never should have spoken to her on their very first day of school, or even sat in the same train compartment!

At that critical moment-

"Protego!"

Thud!

A deafening crash erupted above their heads.

The two boys, who had expected to be flattened into pulp, slowly opened their eyes. A translucent spherical shield shimmered around the three of them.

Hermione held her wand pointed upward, waves of magic radiating from it.

The club pressed against the edge of the shield, unable to advance an inch no matter how hard the troll pushed. Its simple brain seemed incapable of understanding why its movement had been blocked.

"Hmph!"

Hermione gave a low, derisive snort.

Enraged by this puny human's dismissive attitude, the troll roared and raised its club again.

"Leviosa!"

The spell took effect, and the club instantly flew out of its hand, rising above its head.

Hermione swung her wand as though she were playing Quidditch.

Bam!

As her wand swung, the club in midair mirrored its movement, as though under her control, and slammed down hard on the troll's head.

Hermione swept her wand sideways again. The club swung around in a wide arc and smashed into the troll's temple.

After a month as a Beater, she was putting every bit of that skill to use today.

Bam!

Another blow.

Bam!

And another.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

After the merciless barrage, the troll collapsed like a heap of sludge, blood pouring from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It lay motionless on the floor.

It had been beaten to death outright.

Harry and Ron clung to each other, trembling with fear, terrified that Hermione might get carried away with the killing and casually give them a whack too.

Putting away her wand, Hermione took a syringe from inside her clothes and, with her back to the boys, plunged it into the troll's body.

As she drew out its blood, the syringe gradually faded and vanished.

[Magical creatures]

[Dark creature: troll (collected)]

[Immense strength, vicious temperament, low intelligence]

At the same time.

[Dark magic]

[Dark Harvest (talent)]

[Current soul energy: 10]

Good. This trip wasn't wasted.

Looking at the Spellbook in her mind, Hermione felt pleased.

Just as she was about to say something to the boys, a jumble of footsteps came from behind her.

Professor McGonagall was hurrying toward them with the other teachers.