Ron saw the troll and his legs gave out. He dropped straight to the floor, mouth hanging open, pointing at the monster and stammering nonsense.
Harry handled it a little better.
But it was still his first time seeing something that huge and ugly. He stepped in front of Hermione anyway, body trembling on pure instinct.
"Spongify!" Before the boys could even react, Hermione had already whipped out her wand and fired at the ground beneath the troll's feet.
The troll's legs turned to mush. Before it could figure out what was happening, half its body sank into the suddenly soft earth.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Incendio!"
"Flaming Flames!" Spell after spell poured from Hermione's wand.
She would never forget that day in the cave—Tom had used these exact two spells. According to him, when combined they exploded with terrifying power!
Maybe she could actually kill the troll in front of her.
But she couldn't perfectly copy what Tom had done. The flames were thin, like a sneaky little snake that brushed against the troll's skin and then fizzled out, not even scorching it.
"Incendio!" "Flaming Flames!"
She tried again. This time she felt something click.
"Hermione, that's not working! Use Wingardium Leviosa and smash its head with the club!"
"I don't need to!"
"Incendio!" "Flaming Flames!" Hermione shouted.
The fire visibly swelled. If it had been a thin snake before, now it was the thickness of a water barrel!
The barrel-thick flames slammed into the troll's head. Hermione lunged forward, grabbed the fallen club with both hands, and swung it straight down onto the troll's skull.
"Bang!"
A dull thud echoed through the corridor. Blood seeped from the top of the troll's head. Its chin dropped to its chest and it stopped moving.
"Hermione…" Harry couldn't believe his eyes.
What had he just seen?
He'd always thought of Hermione as a delicate girl—physically, at least.
But just now!
She had lifted that massive club with both hands.
The grip alone was almost as thick as her head. How the hell had she picked it up?
"Hermione, watch ou—" Harry's warning died in his throat, hand frozen mid-air.
Hermione didn't have time to care. She was already sprinting into the Potions lab.
Empty.
But on the floor was a huge pool of red liquid.
It smelled like blood. It was blood.
Hermione dropped to her knees and reached out with both hands.
So much blood… Tom must be…
She'd spent every day calling him a bastard, but seeing this much blood made her chest tighten, like she'd suddenly lost a "friend."
This friend was different from Harry and Ron.
She could tell Tom anything. No filter. No hesitation. He was basically another version of her.
"Miss Granger, what exactly are you doing crouching on my lab floor? And the rest of you—I distinctly remember telling everyone in the Great Hall to return to your dormitories.
Now, explain to me why you three idiots are still here. Or perhaps you want me to congratulate you for single-handedly slaying a troll and becoming Hogwarts' newest heroes?" Snape's sarcasm was as sharp as ever, completely undiminished by the pool of blood.
"Professor Snape…" Hermione looked up into those deep black eyes. "This is Tom's…"
Snape cut her off. "Tom? Clever Miss Granger, do you honestly believe these bloodstains belong to Riddle? Then you really are as stupid as they come!
Twenty points from Gryffindor for acting without permission!" Snape snorted.
"However… in light of your concern for your classmate, fifty points to Hermione Granger. And ten points each to the three of you for removing a threat from Hogwarts."
Harry blinked.
Why did only Hermione get the fifty points?
Weren't they all here to help Tom? (Well, Harry had mostly come to help Hermione.)
At that moment the side door of the lab creaked open.
A disheveled boy stepped out, hair messy, clothes rumpled.
But even like that, those jade-green eyes and high, straight nose still made him look unfairly handsome—like a young noble who'd just finished an intense workout instead of a street urchin.
"Hermione—! Professor Snape?" Tom looked between them, confused. "What happened… My grey-wolf blood! Damn it! That stupid troll!"
He spun around and finally noticed the troll slumped in the doorway, lower half still sunk in the softened ground.
"A troll? What the hell just happened?"
Hermione's words came out in a stutter. She rubbed her eyes, unable to believe the chatterbox in front of her was Tom.
But… it really was him.
"You're not dead, Tom."
Tom: "?"
He quickly ran through the last few days in his head, trying to figure out how he'd managed to piss Hermione off this badly that her first words were hoping he was dead.
Meanwhile, the other professors had finally arrived.
Professor McGonagall looked stunned. "Miss Granger, perhaps you should explain exactly what happened here."
…
After hearing Hermione's story, Tom was grinning so wide his face hurt.
But he kept it together—just the corners of his mouth twitching. He didn't dare laugh out loud.
Hermione actually thought a single troll could kill him?
These things were basically toys at his current level.
"Hey, stop crying. Everyone's watching." Tom held back his laughter and used his dirty sleeve to wipe Hermione's face. "You didn't have to worry so much. Professor Snape's lab is completely safe."
"I was just… worried…"
"Worried about what? That Professor Snape would—" Tom's smile froze. "Professor, what happened to your leg?"
He'd just noticed the dark bloodstain on Snape's trouser leg and the slight limp.
Snape didn't answer. He simply turned and walked out.
"Professor! Professor, wait for me!"
Tom left Hermione standing there and hurried after Snape.
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit, you're bleeding."
"I am not!" Snape yanked his robe down to cover the stain. "Tom, don't get cocky!"
"You're limping. Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary."
…
Their voices faded down the corridor.
Hermione slowly stood up.
"Children, you need rest. Leave the rest to us," McGonagall said, gently patting Hermione's head and sighing. "You did very well. But next time something like this happens, I hope you'll trust the professors.
No student will ever be hurt at Hogwarts. Can you believe in us, Hermione?"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall."
Hermione nodded and left with Harry and Ron.
"Harry, what are you thinking about?" Ron asked on the way back, noticing Harry's silence.
"Hmm… I'm thinking about how that troll even got inside the castle.
Filch guards the doors. If a troll had come through, he would've noticed immediately. The fact that it appeared straight inside Snape's Potions lab means it bypassed him completely."
Ron caught on, remembering Snape's injured leg. "You think it was Snape?"
"Snape's just a guess. Lots of people could be suspects. Think about it—Professor Quirrell was the first one to report the troll, but he's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! How does he get knocked out by a single troll?
But I'm not even sure it's any of them…" Harry trailed off, leaving the other two hanging.
"Spit it out! Who do you suspect?"
"Malfoy."
"Draco Malfoy?" Hermione gasped. "Are you crazy? How could he—"
Harry shook his head. "Not Draco. Lucius Malfoy. His father!
You know Hogwarts has a Board of Governors with a lot of power—even Dumbledore has to listen to them. And Lucius is one of the governors.
He used to be a student here, Slytherin prefect. He knows the castle inside out!"
"But why would he do it?" Hermione frowned.
"I don't know." Harry's voice dropped. "It's just a theory. We'll have to check. Treat it as a possibility for now."
Suddenly he froze and yanked them both into the shadows. "Shh—someone's coming. Hide!"
"Hide where?"
"Over here!" Harry pulled them into a dark alcove.
…
"You said Snape gave you detention?" The voice was unfamiliar. The trio strained to listen.
"Yes, Father." That was Draco Malfoy.
"Where is Snape now? I'll go with you to speak with him." The man's voice again.
Harry gathered his courage and peeked out just enough to see.
The man was clearly an aristocrat—same sharp features as Draco, leaning on an elegant cane.
It was his father.
Lucius Malfoy!
But why was Lucius here right now?
---