The troll slowly turned its enormous, ugly face, seemingly discovering at last that two young witches had not fled.
"ROAR!"
A deep roar suddenly rang out through the corridor!
The troll advanced toward them on its thick legs, slowly raising the massive wooden club in its hand.
Its enormous shadow instantly engulfed them both.
Malfoy's face suddenly went white.
She instinctively took half a step back, her fingers tightening around her wand.
But the next moment, the girl gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand firm.
Don't panic!
She was Draco Malfoy!
How could she let a stupid troll scare her stiff at a time like this?!
"Granger, move!"
She grabbed Hermione and lunged to the side.
Almost the instant they left their spot, the club smashed down. The flagstones gave a dull thud, and fragments flew past the edges of their shoes.
The register in Hermione's arms fell to the floor. Two sheets fluttered up, only to be trampled beneath the troll's huge foot.
Malfoy had already raised her wand again.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
The spell struck the troll's knees.
Its legs drew together briefly, and its massive body swayed. Then it actually took another step.
The girl's expression changed. This was nothing like her practice sessions.
"Don't cast spells directly at it!" Hermione panted, her gaze sweeping over the supply rack against the wall. "Use those things to block it!"
Malfoy had seen it too.
Cardboard tubes and rolls of fabric for displays sat on the wooden rack, with several empty boxes underneath.
Hermione raised her wand and recited the Levitation Charm. The end of the rack nearest them slowly lifted off the floor, but it wobbled badly.
"Give me a hand!" Hermione struggled to steady her wand tip.
Malfoy hurriedly reached out and pushed the rack through half a turn, setting it across the space between them and the troll.
The moment the rack touched down, she pointed her wand at its base. A Sticking Charm fixed two of its legs firmly to the flagstones.
The troll swiped at it, but instead of flying away as it expected, the rack brought it up short.
"Go!" Hermione pulled Malfoy back at a run.
A few steps away stood a door leading into a side corridor. They could loop around that way and return to the Great Hall.
The door swung open, letting the firelight from the corridor spill in.
Malfoy was just about to follow when she suddenly heard a faint sob.
"Help me..."
She stopped. Against the wall, behind a tilted supply cabinet, crouched a deathly pale girl.
Her tie was yellow and black, and she still clutched a piece of cardboard, but the hem of her robes was pinned beneath a plank that had fallen beside the cabinet.
The girl tugged desperately, making the cabinet wobble. She shrank back in fright, tears already welling in her eyes.
Malfoy looked at him, then at the open door.
Behind her, the troll rammed the wooden rack again, and the whole wall seemed to shake with it.
The girl's palms began to sweat, and her grip on her wand was no longer as steady.
"Malfoy?" Hermione looked back.
"Granger, keep an eye on it for me."
Before she had finished speaking, the girl had already turned and run toward the supply cabinet.
Hermione froze for a moment, then raised her wand again.
An empty box rose unsteadily, sailed over the rack, and crashed onto the floor on the troll's other side.
At the bang, the troll whipped its head around.
Malfoy seized the chance to crouch beside the girl and press down on his hand, which was still tugging hard at the robes.
"Don't pull. The cabinet will fall." She pointed her wand at the plank and recited the Levitation Charm.
The plank slowly rose, revealing the black fabric trapped beneath it. She quickly reached in and pulled the hem free.
"Can you stand?" The girl nodded and braced herself against the cabinet to rise, but her knees buckled.
Malfoy gritted her teeth and draped the girl's arm over her shoulders.
She had only helped her two steps away when a tremendous cracking sound came from behind.
The wooden rack had broken.
The troll swung its club, sending cardboard tubes, rolls of fabric, and broken planks flying.
One of them struck the side door, slamming the open door back into its frame. Splintered wood wedged beneath it.
Hermione rushed over and pulled, but the door barely moved. "Malfoy, it's jammed!"
Malfoy's heart sank.
On the other side, Ron was also pushing hard against the door.
"Harry! There's someone inside!" He had heard Hermione's voice and immediately thrown himself against it.
But even after his shoulder went numb from the impacts, the door opened only a narrow crack. More sounds of splintering wood came from inside.
Harry glanced at the plank wedged beneath the gap and reached out to stop him.
"Stop ramming it. Go around the other way!"
"But Hermione-"
"Follow me!" Harry had already turned and was running along the side corridor toward the other end of the exhibition hall.
Ron tightened his grip on his wand and hurried after him, his own panting filling his ears.
When he had offered to help in the Great Hall, he had thought that another person could surely do a little more.
Now, hearing those sounds through a door, he only wanted to run faster.
"What are you standing there for?! Get behind me!"
Malfoy pulled the girl behind her and raised her wand, blocking his view of the troll.
The girl's long hair was already disheveled, with several strands plastered to her cheeks.
She stared at the club, trying not to let her hand shake too visibly.
Damn it, she had only come to return two pieces of mirror!
"Malfoy, left!"
Hermione's warning arrived almost at the same time as the club.
Malfoy grabbed the girl and ducked to the side. The heavy club swept past and smashed into the supply cabinet.
The cabinet doors shattered, and splinters grazed her robe sleeve. Without stopping to look, she pushed the girl along and retreated behind a stone pillar with Hermione.
The troll turned somewhat clumsily, but every step it took closed another stretch of the distance they had just put between them.
"Take her and go ahead."
Malfoy looked at a nearby bench and raised her wand.
One end of the bench slowly tilted up. Her wrist sank a little with it, and her wand tip nearly veered off target. It was too heavy.
She hurriedly checked the movement, instead shifting the bench just above the floor until it lay across the troll's feet.
As soon as the wood landed, she added a Sticking Charm, then turned to chase after Hermione.
The troll's raised foot caught the bench. It swayed and looked down with an angry roar.
This time, even Malfoy's forehead had begun to sweat.
Supporting the girl, Hermione waited until Malfoy reached her before retreating again.
"You shouldn't have gone back alone."
"You helped, didn't you?" Malfoy caught her breath, trying to lift her chin. "Nice throw with that box."
Hermione glanced at her and said nothing more.
The girl clutched Hermione's robe sleeve tightly and whispered a thank-you.
Malfoy wanted to tell him to stop crying. She opened her mouth, but in the end only drew the girl a little farther between them.
"Watch where you're going."
Another sharp crack sounded behind them. The bench had broken.
Hermione snapped her gaze toward the exhibition hall.
Its door was still open. White gauze curtains hung inside, and the tables along the walls were covered in lamps and materials that had yet to be put away.
"Inside! There's another door in the exhibition hall!"
She ran ahead, supporting the girl. Malfoy kept pace beside them, reaching out to grab his other sleeve.
The three had barely left the pillar when the troll came around it, its club dragging across the floor with an ear-piercing scrape.
Malfoy could not help looking back. It was too close.
They were not running slowly, but the girl's legs were still shaking, and the two of them were practically carrying her.
The troll only had to stride forward on those thick legs to cover the distance they had just run.
The exhibition hall door was right ahead.
"Granger, catch her!"
Malfoy shoved the girl hard through the doorway.
Hermione hurriedly caught her. They both stumbled and collided with the corner of a nearby table.
The girl was about to follow them inside when she stepped on a broken piece of wood and lurched sideways.
She caught the doorframe and regained her footing. But behind her, the club had already risen.
Hermione looked up, her face instantly blanching. "Malfoy!"
Malfoy turned, her wand halfway raised, when she suddenly heard a voice from the other end of the corridor.
"Draco! Close your eyes!"
Potter?
Before she could even make out where he was, she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.
The next instant, dazzling white light flooded the entire corridor.
The torches along the walls, the broken wood on the floor, even the gauze curtains hanging inside the exhibition hall were illuminated with blinding brilliance.
"Hermione! Get farther inside!"
This time, it was Weasley's voice.
Hermione shielded the girl's eyes with her hand and backed through the doorway.
Pressed against the doorframe, Malfoy heard only rapid footsteps approaching her.
Then an enraged roar rang out through the corridor.
Before you continue