A troll had entered Hogwarts, and panic ensued among all the students, seeming to forget that they had some powerful wizards capable of easily handling the smelly creature.
Harry and Ron realized Hermione wasn't with the group of Gryffindors heading to the safety of their Common Room, so with the subtlety of an Errol crashing into a windowpane, they sneaked away from a prefect too eager to leave to look back even once during the entire journey.
Though he wasn't even able to report that people were missing…
Percy had a lot to improve on; this would be noted after the incident.
When they got close enough to where they knew Hermione was, they saw Barnaby stop and frown just before hearing what could only be described as the screams of a troll falling into an industrial-sized meat grinder while it was running at full power.
They stood frozen, and after exchanging glances, decided that Barnaby had it all under control and Hermione was safe. They definitely did not quicken their steps to rejoin the Gryffindor group when the troll's screams became more tragic, not at all.
So, when they later heard Hermione was in the medical wing, they felt a bit guilty for chickening out. On the contrary, they felt relieved after complementing the information by asking around and finding out she was simply in shock with some wood splinters in her skin.
They went to visit her later, bringing some chocolate frogs for her, but did not expect to see a very recognizable person in the bed next to hers.
Dumbledore pretended to be asleep, employing the thick skin he had developed over the years and exercising his consummate acting skills.
Ron and Harry looked at each other in silence, thinking perhaps the headmaster was too old, and it was natural for him to fall ill from time to time, especially if he got upset knowing a troll entered the school.
He was, what, two hundred years old?
It was good he hadn't had a stroke on the spot.
If Hermione had heard that thought, she would have lashed out at them for not knowing anything about the headmaster of Hogwarts, especially given the man's immense fame.
Poppy looked at the headmaster and shook her head, recalling how they got to this situation.
Professor Flitwick had come with the headmaster floating on a stretcher, with a myriad of strange states she had never seen in a man, at least not all at once!
Blindness with black fog around the eyes, electrified paralysis in the limbs, partial petrification of the beard, poisoning with green foam falling from his lips…
And behind Flitwick was Hagrid, unsure where to place his hands, and a Minerva looking reproachfully at Barnaby, who turned his head to the side naturally.
"I suspected you took Fluffy out occasionally, but did you have to put that guy as a substitute? "Hagrid commented exasperatedly, seeing the tragic state of the headmaster of Hogwarts.
"I didn't expect anyone to check right after the troll commotion "Barnaby responded with some guilt and defensiveness in his voice while stroking a white rabbit in his hands" I was going to return Fluffy to his post after dinner, but with everything that happened, well…
Minerva wasn't even upset about the occasional outings of the young Cerberus, she also knew the poor animal needed some fresh air. What bothered her was something else entirely.
"Why did you have to choose a Molbol of all things to guard the trapdoor?! "she asked, shuddering at the memory of that thing.
"I… I just thought it would be an appropriate option to protect the place from intruders! "he argued with conviction.
Barnaby grimaced secretly, not telling them that the Molbol was actually his third choice, realizing the room was too small for a Behemoth or a Balrog.
So, he had to think of something smaller at his disposal, coincidentally the Molbol he healed last week liked these tight, quiet places, so it accepted the temporary task happily.
"You're going to remove the Molbol and stop making those unauthorized outings "despite her reluctance, the deputy headmistress had to be firm on this point.
"Yes, Aunt Minerva "Barnaby resigned, but he didn't stop feeling resentful towards Dumbledore.
Wasn't he the "greatest white wizard in the world"?
How could he fall to something as simple as the Molbol's Bad Breath?
Poor Fluffy, this is animal cruelty!
Minerva could clearly sense Barnaby's mood a bit, so she decided in secret to seek out Flitwick later to cast an undetectable expansion charm on Fluffy's room, so at least he could move more comfortably.
Maybe add some grass and simulate the sky?
They had already put a lot of things under the trapdoor, what was one or two more?
"By the way, has anyone seen Severus? "the deputy headmistress noticed the absence of the potions master and asked around.
"I think… I saw him running towards the potions storeroom in the dungeons "Hagrid commented while trying to recall, looking at Dumbledore on the stretcher.
Did Snape seem to have a similar condition?