Harry and Ron were following Percy through the corridor on their way back to Gryffindor Tower, surrounded by panicked students.
"There's really a troll?!"
"Oh my Merlin, is this place even safe anymore?!"
"Stick together! Don't get left behind!"
The corridor buzzed with anxious chatter, but Harry's unease only grew with every step.
Suddenly, he grabbed Ron's sleeve.
Ron stumbled. "What are you doing, Harry?!"
"Hermione!" Harry's face had gone pale. "She's still in the bathroom!"
Ron blinked, then remembered.
Earlier that afternoon, he'd said Hermione was unbearable. Called her a nightmare.
She'd run off crying and skipped the Halloween feast.
"Her roommate said she was in the girls' bathroom on the first floor," Harry said, stamping his foot in panic. "She has no idea there's a troll loose!"
Ron clenched his jaw. As terrified as he was, he nodded.
"Let's go find her!"
The two slipped away in the confusion, sprinting toward the first floor.
…
Meanwhile, Charlie had just finished his feast, patting his full stomach with satisfaction.
"Guess it's time to head back to the dorm."
As for Snape's threats? Couldn't be more irrelevant.
[Your Majesty disregards rules. Tyrant Points +1]
Charlie hummed a cheerful tune as he strolled through the corridor, until a horrible stench assaulted his nostrils.
"Bloody hell!" He pinched his nose. "Did the Weasley twins blow up the toilets again?"
You couldn't blame him. At Hogwarts, if something smelled foul or exploded unexpectedly, the Weasley twins either caused it, or knew who did.
The stench was somehow worse than Quirrell's garlic aura. Charlie quickly cast a Bubble-Head Charm.
A shimmering membrane sealed around his head, instantly blocking the odor.
"Ahh, much better."
Just then, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the girls' bathroom.
"AAAAHHHHHH!!"
Followed by the pounding of enormous feet and guttural roars, like a beast had been unleashed.
Charlie's heart sank.
Something was wrong.
He bolted toward the bathroom. One shove opened the door, and what he saw made him gasp.
A massive mountain of a troll, nearly three meters tall, was rampaging inside, swinging an enormous wooden club like a berserker.
Its skin was a sickly gray-green, its muscles bulging like carved stone, but its head looked laughably small in comparison, and its dull eyes held zero intelligence.
Curled in the corner, pale and crying, was Hermione.
Charlie didn't even hesitate.
Back when he'd faced the three-headed dog, Hermione and the others had come back for him.
Now it was his turn.
The troll raised its club, preparing to smash Hermione.
"Not on my watch." Charlie whipped out his wand.
With a single motion, the wooden club transformed into a fluffy cloud of cotton. It floated harmlessly over Hermione's head.
The troll stopped, dumbfounded, holding a puffball where a weapon used to be. Its tiny brain clearly couldn't process what just happened.
"Hermione! Over here!" Charlie shouted.
Hermione's teary eyes lit up with hope. She scrambled to her feet and ran toward him.
The troll finally noticed the intruder. With a roar, it hurled the cotton and charged.
Every thundering footstep shook the floor, shattering the tiled floor beneath.
Charlie stayed calm. His wand moved again.
A roaring blaze burst forth, encircling the troll in a swirling inferno. Orange flames filled the bathroom, illuminating every grimy corner.
Thanks to his relentless spell card draws, both Blazing Inferno and Stupefy had reached Level 3, fully unlocked for silent casting.
But trolls were notoriously magic-resistant. The flames only hindered its vision, they did little actual damage.
Still, it flailed about wildly, roaring and spinning in place, trying to beat out the flames.
Charlie narrowed his eyes.
Magic wasn't working? Time for physics.
He pointed his wand at the row of toilets.
With a screeching transformation, six toilets morphed into thick iron chains that slithered across the floor and wrapped tightly around the troll's legs.
The troll lost its balance and crashed to the floor with a thunderous impact that shattered what was left of the tiles.
It thrashed wildly, the chains groaning and bending under its monstrous strength.
Charlie's expression darkened.
This brute was insanely strong.
"Stupefy!"
A bolt of red light blasted from his wand and struck the troll square in the head.
It staggered but didn't fall. Its dull eyes went foggy, clearly stunned, but still conscious.
"This damn thing's built like a tank."
He kept casting. One Stupefy after another slammed into the troll.
Just then, the door burst open. Harry and Ron stumbled in, gasping for breath.
"Hermione! Are you- "
They froze mid-sentence.
The scene before them was absurd.
A chained-up troll, a wand-wielding Charlie blasting spell after spell, the whole bathroom wrecked.
"Merlin's saggy knickers…" Ron gasped.
"You, you're taking it down by yourself?!"
Harry's eyes were wide in disbelief.
Was Charlie really a first-year too?
This hit harder than the idea of Snape wearing a tutu and dancing.
Charlie ignored them, pouring more spells into the troll to keep it down.
"Don't just stand there! Help out!" Hermione cried.
Harry and Ron raised their wands, but the truth was, these two spell-challenged rookies barely knew any combat magic.
They froze, wands trembling.
Hermione, however, stepped forward confidently.
"Stupefy!"
A bolt of red light shot from her wand, though much weaker than Charlie's. It had almost no effect.
Finally, after one last Stupefy, the troll groaned and collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
Charlie exhaled, drenched in sweat.
"Whew. That was close. Almost got troll-gutted."
Then, a cold, snide voice cut through the aftermath:
"Well, well. Looks like Mr. White is just as recklessly arrogant as our little Savior."
"Always thinking they can save the world."
Charlie turned.
Several professors stood at the bathroom entrance, faces filled with mixed emotions.
At the front were Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, followed by Professor Flitwick and Snape.
Dumbledore was quietly inspecting the downed troll.
McGonagall looked furious.
Snape was sneering, clearly proud of his snarky remark just now.
"Don't be so harsh, Severus," Flitwick spoke up cheerfully. "Mr. White just demonstrated exceptional spellwork defeating a full-grown mountain troll."
He had arrived in time to witness Charlie's no-verbal spellcasting.
As the Charms professor, Flitwick was beaming with pride.
"Flawless silent casting! Hufflepuff gets-"
He was cut off by McGonagall's deadly glare.
Flitwick promptly shut up.
Whew. Close one. Almost got torched.
McGonagall's lips were pursed tight as she looked over the four students.
"You four. Care to explain what you're doing here?"
Her voice was calm, but the anger beneath it was unmistakable.
"Professors explicitly ordered everyone back to their dorms. Why didn't you listen?"
"What if someone had been injured by the troll?"
Charlie shrugged.
"Professor, I'd just finished detention with Professor Snape. I never went to the feast, had no idea what was going on."
McGonagall glanced at Snape.
He averted his eyes and turned toward Harry.
"And what about you, Mr. Savior?" Snape sneered. "What heroic nonsense brought you here this time?"
Harry stammered, unsure what to say.
Just as he floundered, Hermione stepped forward.
"It was my fault, Professor."
Her voice trembled, but she stood tall.
"I wasn't feeling well. I stayed in the bathroom."
"Ron and Harry came to find me because they were worried."
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