Chapter 43 - Halloween Eve

Great Hall.

The festival dinners have always been the most anticipated moments at Hogwarts, and the spooky Halloween is no exception. In tune with the holiday, the hall was carefully decorated:

Professor McGonagall used transfiguration to extend numerous skeletons and ghosts along the walls;

Professor Fawley released thousands of live bats, which flew around the walls and ceiling of the hall;

Hagrid "planted" a batch of huge pumpkins, which were hollowed out and turned into pumpkin lanterns.

If not for the huge candles inside, quite a few couples might have been tempted to sneak in for a pumpkin date;

Professor Tewell also cast a small spell, causing many bizarre ghosts to float around the upper part of the hall.

However, unlike the castle's ghosts, they resembled the sheet ghosts from Muggle films, complete with exaggerated facial expressions.

Rather than being scary, they were cute and comical.

"These little ghosts contain rewards for you. Like in the orb game, they emit light and drop candies when hit!"

As soon as he finished speaking, colorful lights shot from the long table towards the ceiling.

But a second later, the young wizards regretted it.

When the ghosts were shattered, the candies fell like rain, pattering down on their heads.

The young wizards instantly scrambled, using their backpacks to shield their heads, trembling like cute mice stalked by a cat.

Except for Quirrell, the professors were all seated at the staff table, watching the chaos among the students with mischievous laughter.

After a while, when all the ghosts were shattered, the candies stopped falling.

"Ha-ha," Dumbledore stood up, unable to hold back his laughter, "Thank you, Professor Fawley, for bringing us this fun game before dinner. Now, let the dinner begin!"

Ron, who was bending down to pick up candies, only then noticed that the long table, previously covered in candies, was now piled with a variety of delicious dishes, as rich as the feast at the beginning of the term.

Harry picked up a few candies and then stopped, choosing to start tasting them.

"This candy is actually soft, kind of like a fruit juice gummy."

Ron stuffed his bag full of candies and patted it with a satisfied expression.

"I'll keep these; this might be the only time I get a reward from Professor Fawley."

Upon hearing this, the students around him who were unwrapping candies suddenly stopped, especially the older students, who began stuffing every visible candy into their bags, sparking quite a few disputes.

In their imaginations, these were candies specially prepared by Professor Fawley for them!

"Rather than candies, I would actually prefer to have one of those little ghosts, they're so cute~"

A Slytherin senior held tightly to two candies, her reward for shattering that adorable little ghost.

As the last of the candies were swept up, the students then turned their attention back to the feast.

"Now that annoying Granger not only misses out on the dinner but also the candies," Ron said with schadenfreude.

Hermione's roommate, Lavender Brown, frowned unhappily.

"Don't say that about Hermione; she's still hiding in the girls' restroom crying!"

Ron scratched his head, puzzled, "Crying? Why?"

"Isn't it because of you guys, always talking badly about her behind her back? She's hardly ever happy in the dormitory."

"But with her mouth, it's hard not to dislike her."

"Uh," Lavender was momentarily lost for words, "She's only trying to help us, just a bit too direct when she speaks."

"You call that—"

"BANG!"

The great hall doors suddenly burst open with a noise loud enough to shake the ceiling, and Quirrell rushed forward, his scarf askew, nearly exposing the back of his head.

He ran up to Dumbledore, adjusted his hat, and said in alarm, "There's a troll in the dungeon—I thought you should know."

After speaking, he turned to give Tewell a look before collapsing with a creak.

The Great Hall suddenly erupted into chaos. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, and before they could speak, someone voiced what they were all thinking.

"Hermione is in the girls' bathroom in the basement, what about her?!" Lavender cried out in terror, clawing at her face to the point of leaving red marks.

Neither Ron nor Harry felt like joking; they were just as terrified.

"Find a professor to help!" Harry immediately suggested. "Professor Fawley is so capable, he can surely deal with the troll and save Hermione!"

Ron agreed at once, and they pushed their way through the panicked crowd to the staff table where they found Fawley observing Quirrell.

Panting, Harry urgently said, "Professor Fawley, it's Hermione, she's still in the basement!"

"You have to save her, or she'll die!"

"Don't worry, she'll be alright."

Fawley approached Dumbledore, who was preparing to maintain order, and whispered, "Headmaster, I'd like to take the students to the basement and use the troll for a lesson."

Dumbledore turned with a look of surprise, "Dealing with a troll is easy, but can you guarantee the students' safety?"

Defense Against the Dark Arts often taught students how to defend against dangerous creatures, but using a troll as a teaching aid was unheard of.

"I assure you, the students won't receive a scratch. On the contrary, this kind of formidable opponent is something they might not face even once in seven years."

After a moment's thought, Dumbledore asked, "So, you want to take the older students?"

Fawley gestured towards Quirrell, who was still lying on the ground.

"Let's not. Aren't the older students Quirrell's responsibility?"

Dumbledore gave a resigned smile, "Alright, I'll have Percy take the students below third year to the basement."

Satisfied, Fawley left to make preparations, ensuring at least to make the troll more manageable.

Exiting the Great Hall, Fawley strode towards the basement.

It was as gloomy and cold as it had been when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

Thus, he set up several torches along the corridors and staircases leading to the basement, illuminating the path and dispelling the bone-chilling cold.

Just as he finished setting up, he heard a terrified scream.

The troll had made its entrance!

Following the sound, he arrived at a girls' bathroom, but the door had been smashed, allowing the sound of incantations to flow unimpeded.

Looking inside, a massive creature stood at the doorway, holding an equally massive wooden club.

It towered at twelve feet tall, its skin gray and granite-like but equally solid.

However, in contrast, its head was disproportionately small, almost comical, making it seem unbalanced.

Its flat, calloused feet seemed as though they were pressed down by some invisible force, making it difficult to lift them and take a step forward.

Hermione was crouched in a corner, her hands tightly clutching her wand, continuously casting spells at the troll.

Whether from fear or exhaustion from casting so many spells, her determined little face was pale, with sweat dripping down her forehead.