Chapitre 59: Chapter - 59 : The Troll Incident
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Malfoy scoffed. "What's new?"
"Watch it, albino."
"Oi, you said it, I just agreed!" he protested.
"He's my brother," I said slowly. "I can insult him. You can't."
Malfoy gaped at me. Zambini clapped him on the back supportively. "Never try to understand girls," he advised. "That's how people go crazy."
"She's the crazy one," Malfoy muttered spitefully, taking a bite of his soup.
I opened my mouth to respond, only for the Professor Quirrell to suddenly come racing down the aisle between tables, turban askew and terror written on his face. The Hall went silent as he staggered up to Dumbledore.
"Troll… In the dungeon…" he gasped. "Thought you ought to know…" He toppled over, unconscious.
The Hall was thrown into an uproar. I saw Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe clutching each other and screaming over at the Ravenclaw table, which I thought was vastly overdramatic. A couple of younger Hufflepuffs were crying. I stayed stony-faced.
This was far from good, but it could be worse. For example, we could have not known, and the troll might have charged into the Great Hall and caught us all unawares. Or one lone student trying to return to their dorms early might have been caught by it. Maybe it was because I wasn't quite sure what a troll was that I wasn't terribly concerned, but either way, at least I wasn't a screaming wreck.
Dumbledore's wand let of a series of purple firecrackers. The Hall fell silent, everyone staring at him and waiting for directions.
"Prefects," he ordered, "lead your students back to their dormitories immediately. Teachers, follow me to the dungeons."
"Alright, you lot, stay together, stay close, stay quiet."
Amelie was on her feet, looking grim. I saw her wand clenched in her hands as her partner Douglas stood up and added, "If you've got family members in other houses, I don't care. Stay with us, we'll try and find out if they got back alright later. We're in the dungeons. We're in the most danger. Now come on."
"He's terrible at pep talks," Daphne muttered, giving Douglas a less-than-impressed look as we all got up and formed into a long, jagged line, following our prefects as they led us down to the dungeons. I could see Percy ordering the Gryffindors into line, Ron and Harry squished next to each other. Gryffindor Tower was about as far from the dungeons as you could get, so he should be okay.
"Do you think it's still in the dungeons?" Parkinson asked, white-faced with fear.
"Even if it is, I doubt one troll could take the entirety of Slytherin house," I said reasonably. I slid my hand in to my robe and clutched my wand tightly.
I was good at magic. Like, really good. I think it came from all the times I'd unconsciously done magic as a kid. I was aware of the feeling that came when you did magic and how it moved as you directed it. Whatever it was, I was usually able to get spells pretty quickly. I was one of the first in our year to turn my matchstick into a needle and I'd managed to levitate a feather in Flitwick's class on my first try.
But sadly, my knowledge of defensive and combative spells was lacking. Not only was I just a first year, but Quirrell was a joke as a teacher. He usually set us taking notes or reading chapters, we rarely ever practiced how to take on the dangerous creatures we talked about, just wrote essays on the theory. I wasn't confident I'd be any help in a fight if it came down to that, but I had faith in some of our older students.
I blinked as I felt a hand slide into mine. I stared at Lily incredulously, surprised by how stressed she looked.
"Do you mind?" she asked, looking like she desperately hoped the answer was no.
I shook my head but withdrew my hand from hers. For a moment she looked crushed, then I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and tugged her against my side.
"We'll be okay," I assured her, massaging her shoulder comfortingly. Lily gave me a weak nod and managed a wavering smile.
"Draco, I'm scared," Parkinson cooed at him, pressing against his side. Clearly, she'd seen me and Lily and was hoping to cozy up to Malfoy.
"Then get Potter to hold you," Malfoy snapped, eyes darting everywhere like he expected the troll to suddenly drop from the ceiling or something. "I'm not doing it."
Parkinson pouted and withdrew.
We made it to the Common Room without incident. The older years quickly claimed the chairs around the fireplace, talking in hushed voices and theorizing about how the troll might have gotten in. We first years set up camp in one of the tables where we did homework, dragging enough chairs around them so that we could all sit.
"Get it together, Moon," Bulstrode snapped. Lily was still shaking slightly, so I still had my arm around her comfortingly. "You look like a Hufflepuff."
Lily flushed in embarrassment.
"Shove off, Bulstrode, she's scared," I snapped at her, rubbing Lily's back comfortingly. "I seem to recall you nearly wetting yourself when Quirrell staggered in."
Bulstrode scowled at me but said nothing.
"I wonder how that thing got in," Zambini mused.
"Trolls are too stupid for it to just have wandered in," Malfoy nodded.
"Do you think it came out of the Forest?" Nott guessed. "I dunno, do they keep them in there?"
"If it came from the Forest, Hagrid would have known," I disagreed, shaking my head. "He knows everything that goes on out there."
"How would you know?" Bulstrode glared.
"Because I talk to him," I said loftily. "That's why I know about the centaur politics and you don't."
"You don't think someone let it in, right?" Tracey asked fearfully.
"Those Weasley twins would think it was a grand joke, sending a troll down to our dungeons," Malfoy spat out. "Maybe it's a cousin of theirs."
"Fred and George and pranksters, sure, but people don't get hurt unless they deserve it," I countered. "And play nice, Malfoy."
"But if it didn't wander in, someone must have snuck it in," Lily reasoned. "Who would do something like that?"
I bit my lip thoughtfully, trying to think. It was a lot of trouble to go through for a laugh, and something that could potentially end in people dead or injured. No, this wasn't some kind of practical joke gone wrong. Then that begged the question – why do it? Why let a troll in? What would that accomplish?
Well, it had gotten everyone out of the Great Hall. We were all in our dorms, waiting for news. No one was allowed out into the hallways, so-
I gasped softly. No one was in the hallways. That's it. Someone needed a distraction, something that would get us all out of the way, students and professors. We students were closeted in our dorms and the teachers were searching the dungeons for a sign of the troll. Most of the castle was completely empty, and whoever let the troll in would be free to move around without being spotted.
"What's wrong?" Zambini asked, having caught my gasp. I shook my head.
"Just nerves," I muttered in response.
"Need someone to hold you too, Potter?" Parkinson sneered. Lily flushed again and pulled free of my arm. I scowled at Parkinson. If Lily was upset, why shouldn't she be comforted?
Food was sent up for us later on. We all fixed plates and settled in our corner, talking until nearly eleven. That was when Professor Snape swept into the Common Room, but I couldn't help but notice he was limping slightly. I assumed it had been a decent fight to put that troll down.
"What's happened, sir?" Amelie called from across the room.
"The troll has been dealt with," Snape said bluntly. "None of you are to leave your dormitories tonight, but classes will continue as normal from here on out." He sneered. "Thanks to Mr. Potter, we now have to haul an unconscious mountain troll from the girl's bathroom."
Everyone turned to stare at me, incredulously.
"I'm gonna kill him," I announced to the room at large.
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