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[HP] 92: It’s Coming, It’s Coming—the Troll Has Arrived
🕑 Added 2025-08-09 18:47:59 +0000 UTCAt the entrance of the Great Hall, students poured in excitedly, eager to see Hogwarts dressed in its Halloween-themed glory.
A thousand bats flitted across the walls and ceiling—not one more, not one less. Giant pumpkins carved into lanterns hung above and around the hall, their flickering candlelight casting a mysterious glow.
The first-year students were completely awestruck, their eyes wide as they took in the magically atmospheric hall.
But the decorations weren’t the real highlight—it was the massive banquet tables laden with an unlimited supply of candy, cakes, and sweets, sweet enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed with joy.
No child could resist this sight. They obediently took their seats at their respective house tables, chatting excitedly with friends while waiting for the feast to begin.
Hermione, under normal circumstances, would’ve been no different.
But tonight, she was restless. Louis hadn’t arrived at the hall yet.
She glanced toward the Slytherin table and immediately noticed something was off. The atmosphere was odd—completely out of place compared to the other houses. Many of the boys looked like they were attending a funeral, pale and despondent.
Louis wasn’t among them. He hadn’t returned.
“Come on, Hermione, what are you so worried about?” Padma tried to reassure her. “He’s just been called away by a professor, it’s not like he went into the Forbidden Forest to feed werewolves.”
Normally, that would be true—but not tonight.
Padma’s words didn’t ease Hermione’s anxiety. Louis had warned her: tonight, Hogwarts might not be safe. Don’t wander off alone.
Still, Louis should be fine… after all, he was with a professor right now.
Just as she was thinking this, she saw Snape walk into the Great Hall, his expression stormy and his robes billowing dramatically behind him—like an oversized bat among bats.
It was obvious he was in a foul mood, as if someone had made a fool out of him. Within a three-meter radius of Snape’s brooding presence, students instinctively fell silent, fearing they might provoke him.
And yet, one brave soul dared approach him—none other than Hermione Granger.
“Professor Snape, have you seen Louis? He was called to Professor Quirrell’s office,” Hermione asked, standing in his way and enduring his razor-sharp stare that felt like it could slice her in two.
Next to her, Padma wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table. She didn’t even look directly at Snape, but the chill in the air was enough to freeze her blood.
“You said… Professor Quirrell?” Snape stared at Hermione but didn’t scold her. He simply replied, “Your friend will be back shortly. Professor Quirrell had something come up and isn’t in his office anymore.”
Quirrell wasn’t in his office?
Hermione’s face instantly turned pale. Snape, puzzled by her reaction, said nothing more and walked straight to the staff table.
“Hermione? Are you okay?” Padma looked up only after Snape had walked away. Seeing Hermione’s drained face, she immediately grew concerned.
“I... I’m fine...” Hermione didn’t sit back down. She looked at Padma and said, “I need to go find him.”
Padma didn’t quite understand why Hermione was so worried. In her eyes, Louis had simply missed a meeting with Professor Quirrell. What could possibly go wrong at Hogwarts?
Still, Padma was kind-hearted. She couldn’t let Hermione go alone.
“I’ll come with you.”
Hermione hesitated, then remembered Louis’s warning about not being alone. She nodded.
The two girls left the table together, heading for the exit.
The Halloween Feast was relatively informal, and it hadn’t officially started yet, so leaving early wasn’t considered rude.
But just as they left—
Louis arrived.
The moment he stepped through the door, his eyes swept the Ravenclaw table. But after scanning the area, he didn’t spot Hermione anywhere.
Not just Hermione—Padma was missing too.
“Didn’t I say not to wander off?” Louis frowned, taking off his tall top hat and placing it on the Slytherin table.
The moment the hat touched the table, the surrounding students instinctively scooted away, creating a wide open space—as if even Hagrid could comfortably sit down there.
Louis glanced at the Slytherin boys. Their expressions were pitiful, trembling like quails before a predator.
Understandable—after all, they had provided over 7,000 Trick Points today alone. Louis’s current total had now reached 93,000.
Feeling merciful, Louis let the traumatized Slytherins be and walked toward the Ravenclaw table under the watchful eyes of professors and students alike.
“Has anyone seen Hermione? Hermione Granger?” he asked.
The one who replied was Penelope Clearwater, Ravenclaw’s prefect.
“She left to find you—with Padma. You just missed them,” Clearwater explained.
Which meant… they hadn’t gone far.
Just as Louis turned to go after them, the doors burst open—Quirrell came running in, looking terrified and disheveled.
The sight made Louis’s face darken immediately.
A familiar scene was unfolding.
“Troll! There’s a troll in the dungeons!” Quirrell shouted in exaggerated panic. Perhaps even he thought he was overacting, so he added, “I thought you ought to know…”
And then collapsed.
The Great Hall went dead silent—for a moment.
Then, the first scream shattered the fragile quiet.
All the students jumped up from their seats, abandoning their desserts as panic swept the room. Chaos erupted. Everyone scrambled to flee, not even knowing where they were going—only that they had to get away.
Amid the stampede, Louis stood like a rock in a river. The chaos flowed around him effortlessly as he made his way back to the Slytherin table and retrieved his top hat.
He understood the panic. Trolls were dangerous.
Trolls—massive, terrifying creatures with brute strength. At one point, they were mistakenly classified as “two-legged magical beings,” practically grouped with humans.
But facts proved otherwise. They were beasts. Dangerous, dumb beasts. Their thick hide could resist most attacks, and their strength was deadly to any wizard.
While their brains were their weak spot, for young wizards, a troll was still a living nightmare.
A stampede was about to break out. Quirrell—the man who caused the panic—was already nearly trampled.
That was when Dumbledore stepped forward.
“Silence!”
With a magically amplified voice, his words boomed through the hall like a subwoofer shaking the streets. It overpowered the screams and brought an instant hush over the chaos.
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