The Great Hall was now more elaborately decorated.
Pumpkin lanterns floated in mid-air, and countless black bats fluttered through the air.
Swarms of black cloth bats also crawled into the pumpkin lanterns, then flew up to the dome to circle back and forth.
Unlike the opening feast, the Halloween banquet was more unrestrained, with fewer rules and regulations.
Dumbledore did not give a speech at the banquet, but instead raised his glass and drank with the teachers, chatting and laughing.
Students could simply sit on the benches and begin to enjoy the carefully prepared food.
Ron and Harry arrived late, halfway through the banquet.
Both of them were drenched in sweat and looked sullen.
Seeing his younger brother sitting next to him, Percy asked curiously, "Ron, why are you so late?"
"And Fred and the others haven't arrived yet... You haven't done anything wrong, have you? You absolutely mustn't follow in Fred's footsteps!"
"We didn't, we just went to look for someone…" Ron's expression was very unnatural, and he looked embarrassed.
Neville ate the lamb chops in large mouthfuls, mumbling, "Harry, has Hermione been found?"
"Hermione's lost?" Percy frowned slightly. "What happened?"
Ron and Harry looked at each other in bewilderment, and it was only through Neville's help that the matter was clarified.
"So...you searched the castle for a long time but couldn't find anyone?" Percy frowned. "Did you try...the girls' restrooms?"
"Huh?" Harry and Ron were taken aback. "Hermione's in the girls' restroom?"
"I heard it from your classmate… that Miss Patil," Percy said. "She said Hermione stayed in the girls' washroom all afternoon crying, and nothing they did could comfort her."
"Which girls' restroom?" Ron pressed. "On which floor?"
"At the other end of the marble staircase, there's a secluded corridor," Percy recalled. "That's where I caught Fred and the others a couple of days ago!"
As a Gryffindor prefect, he was able to know so many remote routes thanks to his "good" brothers Fred and George.
"Let's go take a look!" Ron and Harry exchanged a glance. "Vizette is right…we should have a good talk with her."
Bang!
Just then, the Great Hall doors were suddenly pushed open.
Quirrell burst in, panting heavily. He was in terrible condition; his face was deathly pale, and his robes were soaked with sweat.
"Troll! Troll!" he screamed in terror, running frantically to Dumbledore. "The troll is in the dungeons...you should know that..."
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.
Trolls could stand up to twelve feet tall, had considerable resistance to magic, and were capricious, often launching attacks without provocation.
This magical creature possessed immense strength but extremely low intelligence, making it quite infamous in the magical world.
Even in exams and assignments, "troll" was used as the lowest rating, meaning "Your grades are so bad that they are like the intelligence level of a troll."
Because of this, all the students entering Hogwarts knew about trolls and that these magical creatures were extremely dangerous, causing chaos in the Great Hall.
They pushed and shoved each other, shouting and running around, trying to escape.
"Quiet!"
A firework exploded in the sky above the Great Hall, its dazzling light and deafening sound briefly silencing the students.
Dumbledore's voice rang in every student's ears: "Don't panic! There's still time."
He continued, "Prefects, take your students back to the common room."
"Go and see! Don't rush to show yourself." Dumbledore walked up to Snape and whispered his instructions.
"Hmm! Disillusionment Charm!" Snape drew his wand and tapped his arm, his figure gradually turning transparent.
Upon hearing Dumbledore's instructions, the prefects sprang into action.
Percy shouted to the panicked Gryffindor students, "Follow me! Back to the common room right now! Come here quickly!"
Time was of the essence, so he quickly led the students back to the eighth floor.
While counting heads, he suddenly realized something was wrong. "Neville, Ron, and Harry? Where did they go?"
Neville shook his head helplessly, while Seamus spoke up, "They seemed to have walked back just now, and they looked like they were going to tell someone they were in danger..."
Percy sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Those two! They must have gone to find Hermione! I need to inform Professor McGonagall!"
On the way, he also ran into a Ravenclaw prefect. "Penelope? You're here to see someone too?"
Penelope nodded quickly, "Yes, Vizette is missing... He didn't show up at the Halloween party!"
...
Let's go back to about ten minutes ago.
The Great Hall was now empty. Quirrell, who had been lying on the ground, groaned and struggled to his feet.
"Concealment!"
With the help of the Disillusionment Charm, Quirrell, now invisible, immediately left the Great Hall and rushed down the marble staircase to the third-floor corridor.
The prefect's voice came from above, directing the students. Quirrell let out a soft breath and gripped his wand tightly in his hand.
A sliver of hope even flickered in his mind: if he could pass this test smoothly, perhaps he could fulfill Voldemort's orders tonight.
In this way, he could stay away from Hogwarts, and the days of living in fear would be over...
Quirrell tried to think this way, trying to comfort himself as much as possible.
"It's a pity... I didn't have the chance to teach Vizette what I've learned..."
He murmured something, then ran towards the door at the end of the corridor.
Whoosh!
A whooshing sound filled the air as a sharp silver light shot out.
"Protego!" Quirrell revealed himself, his wand trembling rapidly, and a transparent shield appeared beside him.
He quickly launched a counterattack, thrusting his wand towards the direction of the silver light, "Bombarda!"
A blinding orange-red flame burst from the tip of the wand, shooting straight towards the other end of the corridor.
Snape also revealed himself, and with a flick of his wand, he neutralized the Explosion Charm.
His tone was icy as he slowly and deliberately said, "Quirinus Quirrell, as a professor, what are you doing here instead of searching for trolls?"
As Snape approached, Quirrell looked terrified, backing away while stammering, "I...I'm just afraid someone will come here!"
"Headmaster Dumbledore told me that someone...someone has designs on the school's treasures. I felt that the trolls'...out-of-control behavior was suspicious, so I came to check it out!"
"A perfect explanation. What a fine professor." Snape stood at the doorway. "I'm right here. You can leave now."
"Why are you standing... standing there?" Quirrell, sweating profusely, questioned through gritted teeth, "Are you... the one with ill intentions?"
"An interesting statement." Snape's tone was even colder. "Perhaps I should go and find Dumbledore so you can tell him these things to his face."
"Alright! I'll go find… find Headmaster Dumbledore right now!" Quirrell took a step back and then instantly handed over his wand.
"Avis!"