A Troll Has Gotten In

As it turned out, even though Harry was now a girl, Quidditch tryouts were no easier. In fact, they were a little harder than before.

When Harry pushed open the doors to the Great Hall, panting heavily, grass clippings still clung to her Quidditch training clothes.

Once it was confirmed that she had been exceptionally admitted to the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a first-year, Wood's hellish training followed immediately.

Harry's body ached all over from her lack of exercise, but fortunately, the joy of becoming a Seeker washed away all her fatigue.

She eagerly scanned the Gryffindor table for her friends, only to find Hermione's usual seat empty.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked, squeezing in beside Ron.

Ron was wolfing down a chicken leg and nearly choked at her question.

He hurriedly spat out the food in his mouth and wiped his greasy fingers on his robes. "Uh... I haven't seen her since this afternoon."

"I saw her in the library this afternoon," Fred said, leaning over from across the table with a mischievous smile.

"She was buried in a pile of books, like a squirrel building a nest, and taking notes at the same time. Really, if I didn't know she was definitely a Gryffindor, I'd have thought that cute little girl was a Ravenclaw."

He changed the subject to something else he was more curious about. "I hear our little sister's become a Seeker?"

George immediately leaned over and gave an exaggerated bow. "Gryffindor's rising star! We'll take good care of our little princess."

"Wow... a first-year on the Quidditch team? And a Seeker, too!" Ron gave Harry a thumbs-up with his greasy hand, his mouth hanging open. "Harry, you're amazing!"

Harry managed a smile and accepted the Weasley family's praise, her gaze sweeping across the Great Hall once more.

Hermione never missed dinner, unless... A terrible thought suddenly struck her.

What if history repeats itself? What if Hermione is facing the Troll alone right now, just like in my last life?

At this time, Professor Quirrell should have already let the Troll in.

Speak of the devil.

The doors to the Great Hall were violently flung open from outside.

Professor Quirrell stumbled in, his face deathly pale. "T-Troll! In the dungeons!" With that, he collapsed flat on the floor.

The Great Hall erupted into chaos.

Harry's heart sank to the bottom.

Events were unfolding exactly as she remembered.

"Silence!" Dumbledore's voice rang out above the commotion. "Prefects, lead the students of your houses back to their dormitories in an orderly fashion!"

Harry quietly edged toward the outskirts of the crowd, only for Ron to grab her. "Where are you going?"

"Hermione isn't here," Harry said in a low voice. "She might not know about the Troll yet."

Ron's blue eyes flickered. He thought for a moment, then said to Harry, "I'm coming with you."

The two slipped out of the Great Hall amid the chaos and headed straight for the girls' bathroom.

Harry's heart pounded, and every step felt like walking on cotton.

Although she knew Hermione would probably be all right, she was still full of regret.

She had known all along that this would happen, so why had she still come back so late?

Quidditch practice didn't have to happen today!

"Hermione?" Harry pushed open the bathroom door. Her voice echoed through the empty room, answered only by the sound of dripping water.

"Not here?" Ron nervously licked his lips. "Fred said he saw her in the library..."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then turned and ran toward the library.

They raced down the dim corridor, their footsteps echoing off the stone walls.

As they rounded a corner, a putrid stench hit them.

The Troll Professor Quirrell had spoken of stood with its back to them, its thick fingers gripping a huge wooden club. Its ugly head swayed from side to side, as though it were looking for something.

Ron sucked in a breath, then couldn't help gagging at the stench.

Harry quickly scanned their surroundings for a weapon.

Finding a weapon would be best. If there wasn't one, a levitation spell would work too.

If that didn't work, he was also very good at Expelliarmus, but explaining why he knew the spell would be troublesome.

If possible, Harry didn't want anyone to know she had been reborn.

"Listen," Harry said in a low voice. "On three, we'll use the Levitation Charm together...!?"

Before she could finish, Ron had already charged out, pointing his wand straight at the Troll. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

His wand gave a muffled pop, like a firecracker failing to go off.

Worse still, the wand in Harry's hand suddenly flew out of her control, arcing through the air before landing with a clatter at the Troll's feet.

"Ron! Your lousy wand!" Harry shouted angrily.

The Troll slowly turned around, its small, cloudy eyes fixing on them.

It let out a deafening roar, drool dripping between its uneven teeth.

Ron's legs were visibly trembling, but he still stepped in front of Harry. "Run... run, Harry!"

The Troll swung its club into the wall, sending shards of stone flying.

The shockwave knocked Ron to the ground, scraping his elbow and leaving blood seeping through his robes. But he scrambled up at once, grabbed a broken brick, and hurled it at the Troll's eyes.

"Hey! Ugly! Look over here!" Though Ron's voice trembled, he still did everything he could to draw the Troll's attention.

Enraged, the Troll dropped its club, seized Ron by the collar, and lifted him off the ground.

Ron's feet kicked in the air in vain, his face beginning to turn purple.

"Let... go!" Ron struggled desperately, trying to pry apart the Troll's thick fingers.

Harry had no time to retrieve her wand. She snatched up a piece of armor the Troll had smashed and struck its knee with all her strength.

"Aargh!" The Troll let go of Ron in pain. The boy hit the ground hard, gasping for breath.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor. Hermione appeared around the corner, out of breath, her hair even bushier than usual and several thick books clutched in her arms.

The chaotic scene before her left Hermione stunned for a moment, but she quickly understood the situation and pulled out her wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione's spell was precise and powerful. The club in the Troll's hand shot up and slammed into its head.

The Troll swayed a few times, then crashed to the ground, shaking the floor.

Before the three of them could celebrate, a bone-chilling cold suddenly swept over them.

A huge black snake darted out of the shadows, its cold scales gleaming eerily in the torchlight.

"Harry! Look out!" Hermione screamed.

But it was too late.

The giant snake coiled around Harry with astonishing speed and dragged her deep into the dark corridor. Harry struggled with all her might, her fingers leaving bloody streaks on the stone floor.

"No!" Ron snatched up the books Hermione had dropped and hurled them at the snake, but the heavy volumes bounced off as though they had struck an iron wall.

The giant snake turned its head. For some reason, both its eyes were closed.

Opening its enormous mouth, it spewed out a foul-smelling mist.

Harry's last conscious impressions were Ron and Hermione's terrified faces, and the faint sparks from Ron's damn wand as it malfunctioned yet again.

Darkness swallowed her vision. Just before she lost consciousness completely, Harry vaguely heard a familiar hiss:

[I've finally found you... Harry Potter...]