The silence that followed was thick and unreal.
The air hung heavy with dust and the smell of blood and damp stone.
Pieces of shattered porcelain lay scattered like white bones.
Cassius stood amid the wreckage, chest heaving, wand still raised — the faint tremor in his fingers the only sign of strain.
At last, he released the spell.
The rope binding the troll's throat slackened, the cords evaporating into fading wisps of light.
The massive body twitched once more before going still — utterly, irreversibly dead.
Cho stood frozen near the cracked stalls, her wand limp at her side, eyes wide and glassy.
Hermione clung to her arm, pale as candlewax.
Neither could speak.
It was only when Cassius exhaled — long, steady, deliberate — that the spell over them broke.
"Is it... dead?" Cho whispered.
Cassius nodded once. "Yes."
He bent down, inspecting the creature's still form.
His eyes swept the enormous corpse — the burst veins, the shallow, quivering gasps that ceased completely.
"It won't regenerate," he murmured, more to himself than to them. "Not with that much damage."
Hermione swallowed hard. "How did you—?"
Cassius turned to her then, and for the briefest instant, she saw something unsettling in his eyes.
Not cruelty — but calculation.
A cold, precise sort of control.
"I told you," he said simply, "we came to bring you back to safety, can't do that with a troll around."
Before either girl could answer, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor outside — dozens of them, fast and converging.
"Teachers," Cassius said softly. "Get ready to explain."
The door — or what was left of it — swung open with a crash.
McGonagall was first through, wand drawn, her tartan robes sweeping behind her.
Behind her came Snape, pale and grim, his eyes darting from the beheaded troll in the corridor to the larger corpse sprawled inside, having recognized the dark magic that had dealt the killing blow on the first.
Then came Dumbledore himself, his expression a mixture of alarm and deep, unreadable gravity.
The scene froze in collective shock.
Two trolls — one decapitated, one strangled — and three students amid the ruin.
McGonagall's voice trembled with barely restrained disbelief. "What in Merlin's name—?"
Dumbledore's blue eyes flicked to Cassius first, then Cho, then finally Hermione — who looked ready to faint.
"Explain," he said quietly.
Cassius straightened, his tone even and respectful — but deliberate, practiced.
"Sir, we came to check on Hermione after hearing she had been bullied earlier by Ron Weasley during class. We were on our way to the girls' bathroom when we encountered the first troll in the corridor. I—handled it."
McGonagall blinked, her lips parting in disbelief.
"Handled it," she repeated.
Cassius nodded gravely.
"Yes, ma'am. Afterward, we found Miss Granger inside, and intended to escort her to safety — but before we could leave, another troll entered through the door. We fought. Now it's dead."
Silence stretched across the room.
Snape's face was unreadable, though his black eyes gleamed with a sharp, flickering light — pride?
Disbelief?
Something darker?
His son, a mere first year had not only battled a fully grown mountain troll and won, he'd beaten two of them all while protecting his friends.
Hermione clutched Cho's sleeve tighter, nodding weakly.
"It's true," she managed. "He saved us."
Dumbledore's gaze lingered on Cassius for a long moment.
The faint smile that tugged at his beard was not of amusement — but concern, he just like Severus recognized the use of dark magic, even if it was used for noble purposes the mere fact of its use troubled him greatly.
"I see," he said softly. "I take it then that you were not present in the great hall for dinner?"
"Headmaster," Snape cut in. "Mrs Chang, and Mr. Snape were, but they left midway through, a full number of minutes before Filch arrived with his news."
Professor Snapes defense was a bit shocking honestly but helpful.
Having heard this news, the teachers could only scold their reckless actions, but also commend them for their bravery to save another.
In the end points were granted to House Draconis for their efforts, 10 in total, five for each Cassius and Cho.
While they considered giving to Hermione as well but she refused stating she did nothing in the fight.
At the end, Dumbledore, had Professor McGonagal escort the three to the hospital wing to be checked out.
Cassius looked fine, but the girls were sporting a few simple wounds that needed to be checked on.
~
After the three followed Minerva out, Snape inhaled sharply, staring from one fallen giant to the next.
"How did five trolls get into Hogwarts?" he muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed in thought.
"Indeed. That question I intend to answer shortly, among a great many others... you didn't happen to teach him that spell did you Severus?"
"You think i would? He might be of my blood but aside from Potions i've taught the boy nothing of the sort."
Snapes voice raised a little in defense not just of himself but also his son.
He'd long known dumbledores prejudice against dark magic, and now the old mans paranoia had focused itself on young Cassius.
~
As the girls were being checked out by Madam Pomfrey, Cassius sat idly upon his bed thinking back on the events.
His power was reasonable, but even still his use of dark magic was weak... thanks to his idle slots he was seen as a genius in a great many things, but because of their limited number he'd as of yet not bothered to enhance his two known dark magic spells beyond the second level, but thankfully this should be the last need for this sort of magic until the end of the year when facing off against quirrelmort.
Next Cassius's mind drifted to Severus.
Just as they were leaving the bathroom, Cassius had noticed a wound on the mans leg.
Evidence that the timeline was still intact even with Quirrel dismissed from the school.
Snape had been injured, most likely in defense of the 3rd floor cooridor. the wound would take time to heal, during which time Snape was likely to become even more dower.
But having already prepared for this Cassius merely needed to return to the Draconis commonroom to send a suitable potion to his father to speed his recovery, earning favorability in the process.