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"Lumos!"
This was the spell used by Neville. It was the first and only magic he had mastered at the academy, and the only one he could perform smoothly. He had practiced it countless times outside of class, putting in endless effort to make it work.
As if to compensate for all the sweat, Neville's spell was extremely bright. The moment the Lumos charm was cast, the glow was far stronger than that of other young wizards.
At that moment, Neville was so nervous that he performed beyond his usual level. The giant monster approaching them was momentarily dazzled.
The giant creature instinctively raised its hands, using its massive palms to shield its eyes.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
This was Ron. The troll lifted its hand and felt it become lighter. The wooden club slipped from its grasp and floated in the air.
The giant monster was stunned. Compared to its massive body, its head was quite small. Its brainpower was insufficient to react to what was happening.
At this moment, Harry's spell also arrived.
"Stupefy!"
This was Harry's most powerful and effective spell at the moment. It hit the troll squarely in the face, causing its body to tremble instantly.
"Glacius!"
This was Hermione.
Hermione, who had reached her partner's side, immediately shifted into her academic mode. Seeing that the floor was covered in water from the broken pipes caused by the troll's destruction, she quickly cast a spell to freeze the water.
If it had only been the freezing charm, Hermione's magic wouldn't have been enough to form large chunks of ice right now, but it became much easier with someone else around.
The water beneath the troll's feet instantly turned to ice. The troll, already leaning backward, slipped and fell on its back.
Ron seemed to have a sudden inspiration at that moment. He moved his wand, and the enormous, heavy wooden club floated slightly backward before releasing its magical force.
The piece of wood dropped with a dull thud.
After the troll fell, it struggled to get up. But because the icy surface was slippery, it couldn't manage to rise for a while. At this moment, the giant monster, which had only been attempting to lift its head, was struck on the head by the falling piece of wood.
The monster's eyes, as small as black beans, rolled back, and it collapsed heavily to the ground, motionless.
"Is... is it dead?" Ron gasped, his face looking a little pale. After running all the way and fighting, fatigue hit him like a wave. His legs shook, and his voice quivered.
"Probably... not?" Hermione's already pale face was now even more so, almost devoid of color. Her body uncontrollably leaned against Harry, and he could feel her shivering uncontrollably.
Neville had been so brave when he rushed to save Hermione, but now he looked panicked, shaking even more than Hermione. Looking at the troll, whose chest was the only thing still propping it up, his eyes rolled.
Harry was concerned that Neville might pass out at any moment.
In comparison, Harry appeared calmer, though his legs were shaking uncontrollably. But he finally managed to speak clearly:
"I think he's just unconscious. We should wait for the professors..."
But before he could finish, he heard hurried footsteps.
Following closely behind, Professor McGonagall appeared, dressed in her emerald-green robe, with Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout beside her.
Behind them were Snape and Professor Quirrell. The latter took one glance at the troll lying on the ground, and his legs seemed to suddenly turn to jelly. He staggered two steps, leaning against the wall before he could steady himself.
Harry furrowed his brow slightly because he noticed that Snape's posture as he walked seemed off.
Looking down, Harry noticed that a large area of Snape's cloak was torn at the bottom, with faint traces of blood.
Snape noticed Harry's gaze, shook his cloak to hide it, and glared fiercely at him.
Harry wanted to return the look, but Professor McGonagall's angry voice reached his ears.
Though Professor McGonagall was usually serious, she rarely lost her temper. Even when Ron and Neville misbehaved in class or Seamus conducted all sorts of explosive experiments, she remained tolerant.
But now, she appeared extremely upset. Her hair was even slightly frizzed.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Professor McGonagall pointed at Harry and the others, her fingers trembling slightly with anger.
"This is a full-grown giant monster! Even an adult wizard should be cautious when facing it. You should thank Merlin for his blessings. Or perhaps I should thank Merlin for his blessings. For what I would be seeing are four corpses!"
Harry and the others stood frozen, their heads down and necks hunched, not daring to make a sound.
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress her anger, and calmed down a bit before speaking.
"Now, can anyone tell me what is going on here?"
"Professor..." Ron opened his mouth and was about to say something.
"Professor, it's all my fault. They came to find me..." Hermione said. "I read about trolls in books, and I thought I knew a lot about them..."
Ron's mouth hung open so wide it almost looked like an apple could fit inside.
Was Hermione really lying to Professor McGonagall?
Harry secretly shook his head: Hermione, your lie is so clumsy. Let me handle this!
When it came to lying, Harry felt he could never match the Weasley twins, but he was definitely better than Hermione.
"Professor McGonagall, here's what happened," Harry lied smoothly. "We were studying trolls together and figured that this mindless, demon-like creature wouldn't be too hard to deal with."
"Hermione heard that the troll was in the basement and was worried it would destroy the precious potions in the Potions Classroom. You know, Professor Snape's classroom is never locked."
Snape: "??"
Harry continued, "Hermione was so worried that she came to try and stop the troll, and we thought she was right, so we followed her."
Ron and Harry shared the same skill: lying without blinking. They both nodded immediately. "Yes, that's exactly right. We were both concerned the troll would destroy a lot of things, like Professor Snape's office."
Neville gave them a stern look, his chubby face and big eyes filled with: Did we really think like that back then?
Harry and Ron looked back seriously: Yes, that's what we thought at the time.
Professor McGonagall's sharp eyes examined the four of them through her glasses.
Harry knew almost instantly that their little trick hadn't fooled the wise professor. But he suspected that Professor McGonagall wouldn't expose them.
"Although your original intent was good, I must say your behavior was extremely reckless," Professor McGonagall said seriously.
"Trolls don't usually use magic. The damage they cause is purely physical, which can be easily repaired with magic. I made that clear in class. I thought at least Miss Granger would remember that."
Hermione quickly lowered her head, but this time it wasn't just out of shame. She was also trying to hide the confused expression on her face. She hadn't fully processed Harry and Ron's teasing yet.
"As for Professor Snape's potions, the smell of the potion would repel most demon-like creatures, so the troll wouldn't have proactively destroyed it, it would just stay away." Professor McGonagall shook her head.
"The tradition of Gryffindor is courage, not recklessness. Miss Granger, you must face the consequences for your foolish behavior. Five points will be deducted from Gryffindor."
Hermione, Harry, and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Only five points, nothing serious. Hermione could make up for that in a couple of classes.
"As for the three of you..." Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and Ron, who were pretending to be innocent, and Neville, who was still a bit scared, and spoke in an unusual tone.
"I have to say, you are very lucky. It's incredibly fortunate for first-year students to escape unharmed after facing an adult giant monster. Five points for Gryffindor, five points for each of you. I will inform Professor Dumbledore about this. Now, you may go."
The four of them immediately nodded obediently, then lowered their heads and quickly left, running towards Gryffindor Tower.
After passing two intersections, the four slowed down a bit.
"Did I really get extra points for Gryffindor?" Ron seemed incredulous. Since the beginning of the year, he hadn't earned a single point for the house.
Of course, most students didn't earn extra points. The main reason Gryffindor could rack up points was because of Hermione, Harry occasionally added a few, and Neville only earned points in Herbology class.
As for the other students, the points they earned combined probably wouldn't even add up to what Hermione earned in a week.
"You really lied to the professor..." Neville said timidly.
Harry smiled and put his arm around Neville's neck. "Neville, you don't understand. Professor McGonagall knew we were lying, but she still chose to cover for us. Do you know why?"
"Why... why?" Neville thought about it and realized that it seemed true. Although their lies had some truth, they still had a lot of gaps.
For example, why not tell the professor? Why did they get there much faster than the professors?
"Because Professor McGonagall didn't want to take points away from us," Ron said naturally. "As long as the reasons are somewhat believable, she'll choose to believe them. But..."
Ron turned to Hermione, "Hermione, thank you. I didn't expect you to speak up for us. And sorry, I shouldn't have said that earlier."
Ron's behavior surprised Harry, Hermione, and Neville.
At that moment, Harry suddenly felt that the Sorting Hat was indeed wise.
Neville had the courage to run up to the troll and pull Hermione back in that situation. His bravery was unquestionable. Harry also felt that Ron had been very brave to apologize to Hermione in front of their friends.
This was the true trait of Gryffindor.
Hermione's large, intelligent eyes sparkled with surprise at that moment, but then she smiled and said, "It's okay, it's all in the past."
******
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