When Hermione smelled the Troll, she almost thought she was still playing Wizard Legend.
That nauseating smell, like saliva mixed with a cleaning rag, hit her in the face and went straight to her head.
Hermione was just about to see what had happened when a pair of large green feet appeared before her.
She knew those feet all too well.
A Troll!
Damn it, how could there possibly be a Troll in Hogwarts?
Perhaps the smell of Trolls in Wizard Legend had already built up Hermione's resistance. Even faced with a Troll, she quickly calmed down and rushed back into a stall to hide.
She hadn't looked up at the Troll's eyes just now, so she didn't know whether it had noticed her.
According to Wizard Legend's monster bestiary, Troll skin had very high magic resistance. When facing such an enormous creature, the best approach was to attack places not covered by skin with spells, such as its eyes or nostrils.
But she was only a first-year. What spells did she know?
Hermione rapidly searched her memory of the books she had read in the library, but she was still only a first-year student. Most of the spells she could cast were utility and household spells.
All of this happened in mere moments. Hermione covered her mouth and nose, trying not to make a sound.
Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
A bald green head suddenly appeared above the partition. Those tiny eyes looked utterly ridiculous on the Troll, but Hermione knew she might not survive even a single casual swing of its club.
The next instant, a tremendous crash came from beside her. The Troll swung its enormous club sideways, destroying an entire row of wooden stalls in one blow.
No, she couldn't just sit there and wait to die.
Hermione raised her wand. "Incendio!"
The spell's target wasn't the Troll. Hermione knew her magic couldn't possibly hurt it. She was aiming at the splinters the Troll had sent flying.
The boards caught fire in midair, scattering everywhere after being struck by the Troll's club.
Hermione was gambling on the Troll being afraid of fire. Even if that failed, the flames could at least draw the professors' attention.
But the burning wood didn't produce much fire, and the Troll raised its club again without any hindrance.
"Hey, ugly! Over here!"
Just as the Troll was about to swing, Harry arrived in time. He pulled the Beast Ball he had prepared earlier from his pocket and hurled it at the Troll.
Harry had borrowed it from Seamus, and he prayed that this ball would work on the Troll.
The Beast Ball dodged the Troll's club in midair, transformed into a medium-sized spider with eight teeth in total between its upper and lower jaws, and landed on the Troll's face.
The Beast Ball did no damage, but it gave the Troll a fright.
"He looks like a failed baseball player," Ron remarked. "And even Trolls are scared of spiders."
Ron was afraid of spiders too, so afraid that he didn't even dare try a Beast Ball.
Harry, however, wasn't afraid. In the cupboard under the Dursleys' stairs, spiders had been his only company.
"Don't just stand there! Come and help!"
Harry shouted, already charging forward. He drew his wand, but couldn't remember even the simplest spell.
Whatever. This thing's so thin, it should work as a needle, right?
Taking advantage of the Troll bending over in panic, Harry nimbly slipped beneath it. Aiming for its eyes, he leaped high into the air.
Ron drew his own wand too. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Furious, the Troll was about to swing its enormous club, only to realize its hand was empty. It looked at its hand in confusion before finally fixing its gaze overhead.
Under Ron's spell, the enormous club floated upward, almost reaching the ceiling before suddenly dropping.
Thud!
It struck the Troll squarely in the forehead. The Troll swayed from side to side, spun around three times, and finally collapsed comically.
Hermione crawled out from beneath a sink and joined Harry and Ron. "Let's get out of here. It could wake up at any moment."
Harry wiped his wand, which was coated in the Troll's bodily fluids, on his robes. "I can't believe we really defeated a Troll."
"Did you see my Levitation Charm?" Ron cried excitedly. When he looked at Hermione, his voice unconsciously grew quieter. "I mean, you taught me well. I shouldn't have said those things about you."
Professor McGonagall came jogging over after hearing the noise. The sight inside the bathroom nearly gave her a heart attack.
She patted her chest. "Good heavens! Can someone explain this to me?"
The three took turns explaining, but Professor McGonagall's brow never relaxed.
"First-years bravely fighting a Troll. You're lucky to be alive. Five points deducted from each of you for not following your professors' instructions."
"But since you managed to knock a Troll down, five points each for your dumb luck."
Having seen the Troll, Professor McGonagall stayed no longer. She needed to report to Dumbledore. Severus and Quirrell would clean up the scene.
Snape didn't stay long either. He gave the three a meaningful look, then swept away in a swirl of robes.
Quirrell comforted the three and urged them to leave quickly.
On the way back to their dormitories, Ron couldn't help reviewing his performance. "Did you see that? My magic was quick and good... but that Troll was really stupid. No wonder Snape always calls us Trolls when he insults us."
Harry, however, had noticed something else. "Snape was hurt. Something savage bit his calf."
"We beat a Troll," Ron said incredulously, "and you were staring at someone else's calf?"
"..."
"I suspect Snape let the Troll in so that, while it distracted everyone, he could go to the three-headed dog and steal whatever's hidden beneath that wooden board. But he failed. He accidentally got bitten by the three-headed dog, which is why he's like this now."
Hermione was puzzled. "What could the three-headed dog be guarding that even Professor Snape wants?"
"Seriously?" Ron grabbed both of them by the arms. "We went through a life-or-death battle today. Can we go back to our dormitories like victors now?"
"As for everything else, let's talk tomorrow. We all need a good night's sleep."
Hermione nodded helplessly. "Then we'll talk tomorrow. Also, thank you for coming to save me today."
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have needed us to save you." Ron scratched his head.
"That's what friends are like, tangled together like a ball of yarn until no one can sort it out, isn't it?"
Harry posed the question, still holding the slimy Beast Ball.
"I hope I can wash it clean later, or Seamus will definitely blow my hair up."
The three little ones officially forged their revolutionary friendship, chatting and joking all the way back to their dormitories.
Lorne had finally finished his work too. He rolled his neck, listening to the crisp cracks of his bones.
"If I get the chance, I really need to find a wizard who can draw, and a musician too. Doing everything myself is exhausting."
He stretched and took a sip of his late-night tea, already making plans.
Should I put together a regular team, or just register a company? I wonder what regulations the Ministry of Magic has, and how much tax I'd have to pay.
Although he didn't need money, employees did. Perhaps he would have to add a microtransaction system in the next update.