William Huggins was the leader of the three trolls in the Trollshaws, and he was far stronger than an ordinary troll. Back then, those three trolls had very nearly wiped out Thorin's Company. If Gandalf had not happened to return, the entire Dwarven expedition would have ended up as skewered meat.
"The cave troll from last time still hasn't been discovered, and now there's another stone-troll."
Altair's mind was already moving.
He planned to use this stone-troll to replace Quirrell's troll.
That way, Dumbledore would become aware of the existence of these different troll races, and at the same time, all the trouble could be pushed neatly onto Voldemort.
Trolls were divided into different kinds. Stone-trolls were even stronger than cave trolls. Their hides were thick and tough, almost as hard as rock, and ordinary weapons or spells often could not even break through their defense.
"Tonight should be entertaining."
Altair tidied himself up and left the dormitory for the Great Hall to attend the feast.
There would be quite a bit happening tonight, so he needed to eat more while he could.
The moment he stepped into the Great Hall, Hermione spotted him at once. After waiting more than half an hour for him, she leapt to her feet excitedly and waved both arms in his direction.
"Over here, Altair! I saved you a seat!"
Hermione called out loudly, and quite a few little witches and wizards turned to look at her.
But after so much time, Hermione no longer cared about other people's stares. In the past, she might have felt embarrassed. Now there was only open boldness left.
"Hmph! No shame at all!"
On the Slytherin side, Pansy let out a cold snort.
Beside her, Malfoy twitched all over and hurriedly edged away. He was afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
Altair walked over and sat down beside Hermione. Taking the juice she handed him, he drank a mouthful and asked, "Why did you come so early?"
"There was nothing interesting to do in the dorm, so I came with my roommates. We just went to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for sweets. It's a pity you weren't there. I wanted to come find you, but I couldn't figure out where the entrance to the Slytherin common room was..."
Hermione stuck out her tongue mischievously, then pulled out a huge handful of sweets from her bag.
"Look, Headmaster Dumbledore gave me all of these. He has so much candy."
Hermione unwrapped an orange rainbow gummy and held it up to Altair's lips.
"Try it."
A trace of surprise crossed Altair's face.
Did girls get bolder during holidays too?
Hermione grew a little embarrassed under the way he was looking at her, but she did not pull her hand back. Altair opened his mouth and ate the sweet, then thanked her.
"Hee."
A smile spread across Hermione's lips without her even realizing it. Then she quietly leaned close to Altair's ear and whispered, "The Weasley twins are planning to sneak out tonight with a group of students. They said they're going to wear monster masks and scare Filch. I tried to talk Harry and Ron out of it, but they wouldn't listen."
"I think they just want to lose points again."
Hermione was clearly worried about Gryffindor's chances for the House Cup.
Altair, on the other hand, would have loved nothing more than for them to go courting disaster and lose points. Hearing that made him visibly happier. After swallowing the gummy, he turned to Hermione with a smiling gaze.
"Very sweet. I want another."
"If you want one... y-you can unwrap it yourself."
Hermione had instantly forgotten all about House points. Her cheeks were burning, and she felt as though she might faint.
"The ones I unwrap myself aren't sweet."
"You... you..."
Hermione bit her lip. Her face showed a mixture of shy annoyance and unmistakable delight.
She stammered for a long while without managing to say anything at all.
Across from them, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, lips pressed into unhappy lines. For some reason, both of them felt a little dejected.
Ron, especially, had the strange feeling that he had lost something important.
He lowered his head and looked at himself, but he did not really own anything important at all.
Old robes. Broken wand...
Could something have happened to Scabbers back in the dormitory?
Altair found Hermione like this rather amusing. Usually he never got to see her this flustered. Just as he was thinking of pressing his advantage, Dumbledore's voice rang out from the front of the Great Hall.
"Quiet!!"
Dumbledore touched his wand to his throat. To make sure everyone could hear him, he had cast an Amplifying Charm.
Overhead, countless pumpkin lanterns rose and dipped through the air. The enchanted sky was thick with storm clouds, and ghostly shapes drifted through them. Every little witch and wizard turned to look at Dumbledore.
After a long stretch of speaking, Dumbledore clapped his hands, and all four House tables were instantly covered with food.
"Now then, let the feast begin!"
As the little witches and wizards burst into cheers, a swarm of ghosts abruptly appeared in the Great Hall and began flying wildly through the air, reveling in the celebration.
The students who had been waiting all this time wasted no effort on manners. They grabbed chicken legs and steaks and dug in with gusto.
Altair knew Quirrell would soon come in and ruin the mood, so he did not bother watching the spectacle. He piled smoked meat and sausages onto his plate and began eating quickly.
"Are you really that hungry?"
It was the first time Hermione had ever seen Altair eat like this.
Every other time they had dined together, he had always been elegant, calm, and leisurely.
"I am. For some reason, my appetite's especially good today. Try this fruit pie, it tastes excellent."
While drinking his juice, Altair handed Hermione a piece of fruit pie.
"Thank you."
Hermione accepted it and took a small bite. Her eyes widened at once, and she nodded quickly.
"It's really good!"
"If it's good, then eat more."
Altair went back to eating. About ten minutes later, the doors of the Great Hall slammed open with a bang.
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