45: Chapter 45 Silent Strangulation and the Professor's Arrival

Half of the sink had collapsed, water pipes were gushing over the floor tiles, and ceramic shards rolled to Harry's feet.

Ron sat in the puddle, raising his wand and shouting.

"Did I do it?"

Hermione grabbed Harry's sleeve, her face turning pale.

"You just sent the bucket flying."

Ron looked at the wooden club that had smashed into the sink.

"Then why did it miss?"

Harry dragged Hermione toward the door.

"Let's get out first."

Hermione stumbled a step, then turned back to look at the Troll.

"It still hasn't fallen."

The Troll's shoulders were slumped, its thick feet crushing ceramic shards, and a chaotic low growl rumbled in its throat.

Harry raised his wand.

"Ron, do it again."

Hermione reminded him urgently.

"Don't aim at the club; that layer of magic on its hand is still there."

Ron wiped the water off his face.

"Then should I aim for its head?"

Hermione looked at the fragments on the floor.

"Use something heavy to distract it."

Harry bent down and grabbed half of a door panel.

"Will this work?"

Ron glared at the Troll.

"Are you planning to test your strength against it?"

Harry gritted his teeth.

"I plan to make it stop looking at Hermione."

In the shadows outside the door, Allen watched as the space around the Troll's ankles was pressed down.

Inside the Portable Space, the Void swam around the stone fragments, its tail tip tapping twice.

Allen pressed his fingertips against the blackthorn wand.

The Troll raised its club, its movements a beat slow.

Hermione stared at the grayish-green sheen on its arm.

"Someone made it more manic, and also made it hard to stop."

Ron cursed.

"Who would cast magic on a Troll?"

Harry turned to look outside the door.

"Where is the Professor?"

Ron shouted as well.

"Is anyone out there?"

Allen did not respond.

He watched the Troll regain its balance, and the club left the ground once more.

The Void's tail tip stopped.

Allen spoke in a breathy whisper.

"It cannot be allowed to swing a third time."

Spatial Perception glided along the water flow across the floor, bypassed Harry's heels, and stuck to the back of the Troll's neck.

Ron aimed his wand at a ceramic shard and swung.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The shard flew up and hit the side of the Troll's ear.

The Troll let out a roar, its head turning toward Ron.

Ron's face turned ashen.

"It's looking at me."

Harry shouted.

"Dodge!"

Ron replied while retreating.

"I am dodging!"

Hermione steadied herself against the broken sink.

"Don't step there, there are broken tiles."

Ron looked down, his feet slipping.

"It's too late to warn me now!"

The Troll dragged its club and turned, its massive body wedged between the sink and the stalls.

Harry grabbed a broken bucket and smashed it against its knees.

"Look here!"

The Troll's steps were blocked by the half-door panel, and its body tilted toward the door again.

A coldness sank into the depths of Allen's eyes.

"Enough."

Spatial Folding swept across the back of the Troll's neck, without light or sound.

A small section of magical connection was severed.

The Troll's raised hand stopped in mid-air, its thick fingers loosening their grip on the club.

Ron widened his eyes.

"It let go!"

Hermione shouted.

"Don't just stand there!"

Harry lunged and pushed Ron away.

The club fell into the puddle, splashing water all over the walls.

The Troll's head tipped forward.

Ron fell into the water and looked up at the massive, grayish-green face descending upon him.

"Harry!"

Hermione shrieked.

"Get down!"

Harry dragged Ron and rolled to the side.

Allen's fingertips brushed across the wand.

Space tightened at the location of the Troll's cerebellum, cutting off the path of the violent magic.

The Troll's roar stuck in its throat, its massive body losing support, and it collapsed onto the open floor.

The floor tiles of the Girls Bathroom shook.

Ron hugged his head and lay in the water, only lifting his head after a long while.

"Is it dead?"

Hermione stared at the Troll's chest.

"No, it's still breathing."

Harry asked, gasping for air.

"Did it pass out?"

Ron sat up and looked at his wand.

"Did I knock the Troll out?"

Hermione immediately retorted.

"You only made it let go."

Ron was unconvinced.

"That counts as a crucial step."

Harry nodded.

"It counts."

Hermione looked at the fallen Troll, her voice tight.

"Something wasn't right just now."

Ron wiped his face.

"What's wrong now?"

Hermione pointed to the back of the Troll's neck.

"There are no marks of a spell hitting it."

Harry looked at the broken door.

"Is there anyone outside?"

There was only the sound of water in the corridor.

Allen withdrew his hand and retreated toward the corner.

The Void raised its head within the space.

Allen said softly.

"Let's go."

Ron's voice came from inside the Girls Bathroom.

"Harry, did you hear someone talking just now?"

Harry frowned and looked outside the door.

"Maybe it was the sound of the pipes."

Ron looked at the Troll.

"I'd rather believe it was the pipes."

Rapid footsteps came from the direction of the stairs, and Professor McGonagall's voice arrived first.

"Mr. Potter!"

Harry immediately responded.

"Professor, we're in here!"

Ron whispered.

"It's over."

Hermione took a breath.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Ron replied.

"You'd better not say we were here to send the Troll home either."

Allen paused in the shadows, confirming that McGonagall and Snape were approaching.

Quirrell's footsteps dragged behind.

He raised his hand and used Spatial Displacement to push the water stains on his shoe soles back to the corner.

"The Professor is here, leave the acting to them."

He stepped to the side, his figure submerging into Spatial Folding.

Professor McGonagall rushed into the Girls Bathroom, her face pale.

"Merlin!"

Ron stood up, his robes still dripping.

"Professor, we can explain."

Professor McGonagall looked at the fallen Troll, then at the three of them.

"What on earth were you doing?"

Hermione spoke up first.

"Professor, it was me."

Harry and Ron looked at her simultaneously.

"Hermione?"

Hermione steadied herself against the edge of the sink and lifted her chin.

"I thought I could handle it."

Ron stared at her.

"Are you crazy?"

Professor McGonagall turned to her.

"Miss Granger, are you saying you thought you could handle a Mountain Troll?"

Hermione nodded.

"I have read about Trolls in books."

Ron muttered.

"Books definitely don't have a Girls Bathroom version."

Professor McGonagall glanced at him.

"Mr. Weasley."

Ron immediately shut his mouth.

Snape walked through the door, the hem of his black robes avoiding the puddle.

His gaze rested on the Troll, then swept over the broken sink.

"Interesting."

Harry looked at him.

"Professor?"

Snape walked to the Troll's side and crouched down to check the back of its neck.

"The Levitation Charm can make a club fall, but it cannot make a Troll pass out so cleanly."

Ron raised his wand.

"I was the one who made the club fly."

Snape looked at him coldly.

"I heard you, Mr. Weasley."

Ron lowered his wand.

"Oh."

Quirrell walked in then, holding onto the door frame, his face pale and his turban slightly askew.

"Tr-Troll, how could it be here?"

Ron looked at him.

"Professor, didn't you say it was in the Dungeon?"

Quirrell stuttered even more severely.

"I, I also just heard the commotion."

Hermione looked at Quirrell, hesitating before speaking.

"It had magical reactions on it, grayish-green magic on its arms, and it kept holding onto the club just now."

Snape stood up and stared at Quirrell.

"Grayish-green?"

Quirrell's hand brushed against the door frame.

"Trolls are inherently dirty, the child might have seen wrong."

Ron couldn't help but interject.

"She saw it more clearly than I did just now."

Harry nodded.

"Hermione didn't see wrong, it was indeed abnormal."

McGonagall looked at Snape.

"Severus?"

Snape's gaze moved away from Quirrell's turban.

"Residual chaos, and Trolls themselves have low-level magic."

Quirrell quickly chimed in.

"Yes, yes, the magic of a Troll is always chaotic."

Professor McGonagall did not press further and turned to the three of them.

"Regardless, you should not have left the group without permission."

Harry said in a low voice.

"We heard Hermione wasn't there."

Ron added.

"She hadn't gone back all afternoon."

Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione.

"Miss Granger, why didn't you attend the feast?"

Hermione lowered her head.

"I stayed here and didn't hear the summons; they came to find me and saved me."

Professor McGonagall's expression softened slightly.

"Miss Granger, because of your reckless behavior, five points from Gryffindor."

Ron whispered.

"Five points?"

Professor McGonagall looked at him.

"Do you wish for more?"

Ron immediately shook his head.

Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and Ron again.

"As for you two, although you shouldn't have acted without permission, you saved a classmate, so five points to Gryffindor each."

Ron looked at Harry.

"We didn't lose out."

Harry reminded him softly.

"Stop talking."

Snape stood next to the Troll, his gaze sweeping across the corridor outside.

"Potter."

Harry looked at him immediately.

"Sir?"

Snape asked.

"Are there only the three of you here?"

Harry hesitated for half a second.

"Yes."

Hermione also said.

"Only us."

Ron added.

"And it."

Snape swept a cold glance over.

"I can see, Mr. Weasley."

Professor McGonagall interrupted them.

"Enough, deal with the Troll first, you go back to the Common Room, and don't stop on the way."

The three left the Girls Bathroom.

Harry walked to the door and looked back at the Troll one more time.

Hermione asked in a low voice.

"Are you still thinking about what happened just now?"

Harry said.

"It fell too quickly."

Ron leaned in.

"Maybe it's because my spell finally took effect."

Hermione looked at him.

"Your spell only hit the club."

Ron spread his hands.

"The club is the key."

In the first-floor corridor, Allen walked out from behind the shadows of the stairs, his cuffs clean, his shoes dry.

The sound of Professor McGonagall's lecture came from afar.

The Void coiled back beside the ebony box.

Allen put away his wand.

"Ron will take the credit, Hermione will help them cover it up, and the Professors will only see that the Troll has fallen."

The Void flicked its tongue.

Allen walked along the corridor toward the Dungeon.

"There are no spell marks on the scene, Quirrell won't dare to ask too much, and Snape will only be more annoyed."

The portrait at the end of the corridor complained.

"Another student wandering at night?"

Allen didn't stop walking.

"Lost."

The portrait snorted.

"Slytherins always say that."

Allen went around the stairwell.

"Then just assume I'm sleepwalking."

The sound of water on the second floor faded away, and the voices of the Professors were blocked by the walls.