Alexandra fell on her knees and vomited all her dinner on the floor, not able to bear the sight of the carnage she had just provoked. She was tired. She was exhausted. She had seen too much tonight, and the death of the troll was the breaking point. She fell on her knees and vomited the rest of her dinner in front of her.
"Is it... is it dead?" asked Hermione Granger behind her, who by her looks was also green.
"Think so." replied Alexandra weakly." Unless it re-grows a head in the next minute." Unlikely, as mountain troll had no regeneration power for his organs or his arms, never mind its head, but with her out of breath, she wasn't in condition to fight anymore today. She really hoped there wasn't a second mountain troll in the school this evening, because she wouldn't have a chance in hell to defeat it tired as she was.
Loud footsteps made the two girls look up. Alexandra hadn't realised what a racket she and the troll had been making in the toilets, but in the few minutes they were there, they had made enough noise to wake up the dead in every part of the castle. Professor McGonagall came bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape and Flitwick, with Quirell and Devkins in the rear.
Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. Devkins looked absently at the creature, his brain apparently refusing to see the creature in front of him. Pathetic spectacle for pathetic Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors.
Snape and Flitwick went closer, bending over the troll, and examining its corpse. Professor McGonagall was looking at Alexandra and Hermione. Alexandra had never seen her look so angry. Her face was livid and her lips were white.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" Said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"
"Doing your job, Professor" Alexandra replied, insisting on her title. The venom in her voice surprised even her.
"I lost my way in the crowd to go back to my common room. Then I duelled Alex Sykes for his third assassination attempt of the year, and then the troll pursued me across the second floor before I found refuge here. Finding no other door, I was forced to fight the troll. I killed it. End of the story."
" Potter. Was it necessary to kill the troll to prove your point?" Asked Snape in his typical menacing tone.
" Was it necessary for the troll to massacre Alex Sykes ?" She saw all the professors except Snape going livid at her rhetorical question. Good, they understood how much they had screwed up. " Absolutely not, but it was me or the troll. I preferred it was the troll."
"Is Alex Sykes dead?" Asked Flitwick in deceptive calm voice, his eyes throwing lightning at Dumbledore.
Alexandra grimaced before nodding positively. "Without most of his head and his body smashed by the club of the troll, he is surely dead. Even if he had survived, no one was here to heal him, so I suppose he would have succumbed to his injuries."
"Very well," Said McGonagall in a shocked voice." Severus? "
Snape nodded and then left the room, no doubt going searching the mortal remains of the Ravenclaw fourth-year.
"You were extremely lucky to survive this troll, Miss Potter and Miss Granger, fifty points for each of you." Affirmed McGonagall."You may return to your common room."
Alexandra looked at the head of Gryffindor House, wondering what was wrong with the woman. She had just killed a monster, told them a student was dead, both she and Hermione were looking dead on their feet and she sent them back to their beds? At that moment, any respect she could have had for Minerva McGonagall as Deputy Headmaster and authority figure inside Hogwarts died.
She passed her Head of House, whispering she would like to come to his office tomorrow, before leaving the toilets. Flitwick flicked his wand in answer, cleaning her of the dust and the vomit she had on her robes on the spot. Throwing a last glance at the troll corpse, Alexandra swore she would avoid these toilets for the rest of her life at Hogwarts.
She was on her way to climb up the stairs to the fourth floor, when Hermione Granger ran to her and held her in her arms thanking her. Perhaps after all, mused Alexandra, they were some advantages to kill a fully grown mountain troll.
Everyone had long gone to sleep inside the castle when two dark figures met in an abandoned section of the sixth floor.
"Our plan has failed. My superiors are not going to be happy."
"Yes, but how could I suspect Dumbledore would put a bloody Cerberus to guard the Stone?"
"You couldn't. Now that we know, how do we get rid of this beast? A Killing Curse could do the job..."
"Fool! An Unforgiveable would alert Dumbledore and all the Professors the moment we cast it! Find another solution. I will deal with Snape and concoct an excuse for the Muggle-lover."
"I'm sure your so-called spy is working for the enemy now."
"That's always the risk with double and triple-agents. And I promise you he will pay the price. I will make sure his agony will be long and painful when it comes."
"Next meeting on Friday? I should have an answer by then and a troll of replacement ready. Did you see what the Potter girl did to the beast?"
"Yes. I must admit this Ravenclaw has...potential."
Then the two figures went each their way and the silence came back in the corridor.
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