The students immediately began to stir, but Dumbledore quickly stood up to stabilize the situation, instructing the prefects to lead the young wizards of their respective houses back to their dormitories.
Harry and the others also followed the crowd out of the hall, but Hermione suddenly pulled them aside.
"Tom!"
"He doesn't know about the troll yet!"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. "We need to go inform him."
"If only we had made the fairy gold coins earlier," Ron sighed.
"I'll come with you!" said Hermione.
"You?"
"We're a team," Hermione said. "Besides, do you guys know where the girls' bathroom is?"
Moments later, Murphy, preparing to join the professors to the underground classroom, saw three sneaking figures departing and felt somewhat perplexed.
Is this part of the convergence of the world line?
So, you three just have to confront the troll, huh? Well, it's quite interesting anyway.
...
On the other side.
Tom, emerging from Dittany's bathroom, was getting ready to attend the Halloween feast.
He was still pondering what Dittany had said: A pair of big, frightening yellow eyes? What could that be? Unfortunately, he hadn't had the chance to ask about Tom Riddle before Dittany sent him out.
But no matter, he had still received some news: Hagrid was expelled from school because of Dittany's death.
Hagrid!
So he was in school at that time and, being related to the case back then, must know about Tom Riddle.
He'll have to ask Hagrid along with Harry later.
While contemplating, he suddenly smelled a foul odor. Frowning, he then heard a series of clanging noises, as if someone was wreaking havoc in a nearby abandoned classroom.
It's probably Peeves, Tom thought, not bothering with it. But at that moment, a huge foot stepped out from the classroom in front.
The intensity of the foul smell suddenly increased. Looking up, he saw a huge monster with grey-green skin emerging from that classroom into the corridor.
The monster was incredibly tall, its head nearly touching the ceiling, with thick limbs; its legs were like tree trunks, its arms almost reaching its knees, holding a giant wooden club.
Compared to its body, its pointy head seemed much smaller, along with its protruding ears, making it look not very intelligent.
A troll?!
He had read about such creatures in books. They were not very smart but very dangerous due to their immense strength. Their skin had a good resistance to magic, and they were carnivorous, with humans also on their menu.
Instinctively, Tom hid behind a statue of an old wizard.
The troll, not noticing him, moved into another classroom. Seizing the opportunity, Tom hurried down the stairs to inform the professors about the troll.
As he reached the first floor, he saw a figure rushing by, which seemed to be Snape. Just as he was about to call out, he saw three young wizards sneaking out from behind a gryphon statue, whispering as they hurriedly climbed another staircase.
"That looks like... Harry and the others?"
Why would they go upstairs at this time, towards the troll? He quickly followed but didn't dare to shout, fearing to alarm the troll. However, the trio had disappeared; the corridor was empty.
Maybe they saw the troll and went back? But then, a horrific scream came from afar, followed by a loud "bang!" as if something had hit the ground.
"Roar!"
Now he was certain: Harry and the others had encountered the troll!
Tom, frowning, hesitated whether to find a teacher or help them. But ultimately, he clenched his teeth and rushed towards the source of the noise.
The troll was not very agile, so he could check the situation first and run if things got bad.
Soon, he found himself back at the girls' bathroom, which was a total mess. Sinks and toilet stalls were smashed, water spraying everywhere. The three young wizards were cornered by the troll, trying to fight it off.
As he arrived, he saw the troll lifting its club. Without thinking, Tom drew his wand, "Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light hit the troll, which only paused momentarily. The troll's grip on its club tightened, and it didn't let go as Tom had hoped.
Resistance to magic? "Immobulus!"
A rope appeared out of thin air, wrapping around the troll's neck and upper body.
The troll struggled, turning its body and noticing Tom. It furiously pulled at the ropes and, with a snap, broke them.
"Roar!"
The troll, enraged, swung its club at Tom.
Tom ducked, the club smashing into the wall beside him, shaking loose dust from the ceiling and cracking the wall.
"Tom!" Harry shouted, suddenly climbing onto a relatively intact sink and leaping onto the troll's back, grasping its ears and pulling, trying to distract it.
Tom was stunned. How brave was this guy! Getting caught by the troll would surely lead to a gruesome end.
He couldn't delay; discarding his wand, he pulled out another one with a serpent design from his waist. Taking advantage of the troll's distraction by Harry, he aimed, "Expelliarmus!"
A massive red spark shot out, hitting the troll and forcing it back. The troll stumbled and fell backward, its club flying out of its hand and smashing into a classroom door, breaking it apart.
Tom looked at his wand in shock.
So powerful! Is this the power of a wand crafted by science?
Harry agilely jumped off the troll, dodging its falling body. "Tom, quick, knock it out!"
Tom didn't hesitate, pointing his wand at the troll's head, "Stupefy!"
Another beam struck the troll's head, knocking it to the ground with a terrifying thud. The troll's eyes rolled back, tongue lolling out, comically unconscious.
"Wow! Tom, you defeated the troll!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
Compared to the original story, since she always had two companions, she wasn't very scared, just nervous. Now the threat was gone, her nervousness turned to excitement.
She thought the whole event was quite interesting.
"Why did you come up here?" Tom asked.
"Of course, to save you!" said Ron. "Professor Quirrell said there was a troll outside, and we were worried about you, so we came to warn you... but you ended up saving us."
Tom felt amused but also felt a warm tingling in his heart, almost unable to control his upturned lips.
"By the way, I just saw..."
Before he could finish, all three suddenly gasped in shock.
Ron looked behind him.
"Tom..." Hermione seemed to want to say something.
Harry reacted the fastest, reaching out to pull him.
At that moment, Tom caught a glimpse of something hurtling toward him from the left.
"Bang!" Suddenly, a huge wooden club struck Tom with terrifying force, flinging him away like a baseball.
"No!"
"Tom!"
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