Why Didn't We Tell a Teacher?

"How did the troll get in? Isn't Hogwarts supposed to have magical defensive wards?" Harry asked hesitantly in a low voice as he followed the crowd.

"They might use a troll as a teaching aid in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but..." Ron trailed off uncertainly.

Harry understood what he meant. Judging by Professor Quirrell's performance in class, the chances of that were virtually zero.

"Wait..." Harry suddenly stopped and looked hesitantly at Ron, who had also stopped, his expression turning grim. They had both remembered...

"Hermione!" they whispered almost simultaneously.

"Damn, she doesn't know about the troll yet. Honestly, why does that girl always cause trouble?" Ron complained, completely ignoring which of them was actually more prone to causing trouble.

Harry gave Ron a look that said, How can you even say that? Ron knew him well enough to understand instantly.

Why didn't Hermione know about the troll?

Because she wasn't in the Great Hall!

And why wasn't Hermione in the Great Hall?

Because she was crying in the basement bathroom!

And why was she crying in the basement bathroom?

Because of what Ron had said...

"We have to find her!" Harry said firmly.

"Yeah, hurry. Don't let Percy spot us." Ron wasted no time arguing. Clearly, he was thinking the same thing as Harry.

They acted at once, ducking low and moving against the crowd toward the stairs to the basement. Before they could even leave the Great Hall, however, they ran straight into Neville, who had been a little slow to react.

"Harry, Ron! Where are you two going?" Seeing how furtively they were behaving, Neville immediately suspected they were up to something again-and definitely nothing good!

He wanted to stay out of it, but couldn't stop himself from speaking.

"Neville..." Ron felt rather awkward about running into Neville. He hadn't spoken much to him lately, either. If they hadn't shared a dormitory, things might have ended up much as they had with Hermione.

"We'll explain on the way. There's no time." Harry had no such concerns. He grabbed Neville and hurried toward the stairs, explaining as they went, "Hermione's in the bathroom on the first basement level, and the troll's down there too. We have to save her."

"Huh?" Neville froze for a moment, during which Harry dragged him quite a distance. It took him a while to catch up, and then he asked in confusion, "Why is Hermione in the basement bathroom?"

Harry had no time for further explanations. Their footsteps pounded as they raced to the stairs. Just as they were about to head down, Ron suddenly whispered, "Someone's coming!"

All three instinctively ducked behind a nearby statue. Fortunately, the statues in the corridor were large enough, and Harry and the others, being only first-years, were small enough.

Besides, the corridor was lit only by torches, which weren't particularly bright at the moment. Hidden in the statue's shadow, the three were fairly easy to overlook.

In fact, their plan worked. The person who strode past them didn't notice them at all and hurried up the stairs. Yes, up.

"Snape?" They didn't need a close look. With those ever-present black robes and the strong, strange smell of various potions mingling together, the three young wizards were certain that the person who had just passed was Snape.

"Why is he going upstairs? Isn't the troll in the basement?" Neville asked, puzzled.

"Who knows? Forget about him." Harry answered offhandedly, then pulled Neville and Ron out from behind the statue and ran down the stairs toward the basement.

"Hey, hey, Harry, wait! Wait..."

Harry didn't stop until they had descended the stairs and reached the basement. Only then could Neville finally get out the question he'd been trying to ask but hadn't managed to say clearly while running:

"Why don't we tell a professor?"

Harry: "..."

Ron: "..."

Right, why? Why didn't we go find a professor?

Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Harry and Ron looked utterly embarrassed.

"You didn't give me a chance to say anything," Neville said, looking aggrieved.

Harry was about to say something else when his nose suddenly twitched. "Do you smell something?"

Even without Harry pointing it out, Ron's and Neville's expressions had already changed slightly. An indescribable stench was drifting toward them from a distance.

Then came a rumbling sound-the sound of enormous feet striking the floor. With it came low huffing noises and heavy, muffled panting.

Sharp-eyed Ron pointed to the far end of the corridor, where an enormous dark figure was slowly passing by. It was the troll!

"Looks like it's come out of the classroom." Harry's expression was grim.

"That's the way to the bathroom!" Ron's voice was trembling.

"There's no time to find a professor now. Hurry!" In a rush of reckless impulse, Harry drew his wand and ran toward it.

As his best friend, Ron was just as reckless as Harry. He drew his wand and followed. Neville hesitated for a moment, but went after them too.

They ran down the long corridor, only to see a sight that made their scalps prickle.

The troll stood over five meters tall, its body covered in disgusting lumps and bumps. Its skin was a rocky blue-gray.

Compared with its massive body, the troll's head was absurdly small. With its huge mouth, large nose, and tiny eyes, it looked utterly dim-witted.

But at that moment, the hulking brute smashed a wooden door apart with a single blow of its club and stepped inside. Almost simultaneously, a girl's shrill scream rang out from the bathroom. It was Hermione!