Chapter 13.
That night, when Soren and Draco's group walked into the Great Hall, they saw a thousand bats flapping around on the walls and ceiling, while another thousand swirled above the dining tables like low-hanging dark clouds, making the candle flames in the pumpkins flicker. Delicious dishes appeared suddenly on the golden plates, just like at the feast on the first day of school.
While everyone was eating and chatting, Professor Quirrell suddenly dashed into the hall, his large scarf askew on his head, his face filled with terror.
Everyone stared at him as he stumbled to Professor Dumbledore's chair, leaned against the table, and gasped, "Troll— in the underground classroom— thought you should know." With that, he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
The Great Hall was instantly thrown into chaos. Professor Dumbledore had to cast a few bursts of purple fireworks from the tip of his wand before everyone quieted down. "prefects," he said in a grave voice, "take students back to their dormitories at once!"
The prefects of Slytherin, Gemma Farley, stood up, and the Slytherin students lined up orderly to return to their dungeon dormitory. Soren exchanged a glance with Draco and quietly slipped away from the line. Draco, knowing his brother's abilities, was not worried about one troll being able to harm him, so he didn't ask where his brother was going.
Soren quickly ran to the girls' bathroom on the second floor according to the memory from the original novel. At that moment, the troll hadn't arrived yet, not to mention Harry and Ron.
Soren pushed the door open forcefully, calling out Hermione's name. Hermione was taken aback when she saw Soren rush into the girls' bathroom. Soren said, "Hermione, I don't have time to explain everything, there's a troll outside, we must get out of here quickly!"
Hermione, possibly having cried for too long or crouched for too long, was momentarily unable to respond. Soren grabbed her hand and rushed toward the bathroom door. Just as they burst out of the bathroom, they unexpectedly came face-to-face with the troll. Hermione let out an incredibly out-of-place scream, drawing the troll's full attention to the two of them.
Soren had thought that in his first real-life encounter, he would feel panic, fear, and tension, but unexpectedly, he felt none of those emotions. On the contrary, he suddenly felt a warm rush in his chest, as if filled with a spirited determination and unyielding fighting spirit— the adventurer's soul from Soren's past life was igniting. After reading so many books and studying magic for so long, he finally felt that the moment had come to put it all to use, and he was so excited he wanted to shout and release his emotions.
Soren raised his wand, and the results of years of diligent practice with house-elves manifested perfectly at that moment— his wand shot out a jinx that hit the troll squarely in its eyes!
The troll lost its sight and stood there, momentarily at a loss.
Soren wouldn't miss this golden opportunity. Focusing all his energy, he aimed his wand at the wooden club in the troll's hand and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club suddenly flew out of the troll's hand, soaring high into the air, and under Soren's control, it moved to the back of the troll's head— the troll's weak point. Then, with a swift downward motion of his wand, the club plummeted toward the troll's back, smashing into it with a thunderous crash. The troll began to sway as if performing an exaggerated dance, staggered a few times, and fell face-first to the ground.
Hermione seemed stunned, standing there frozen. Soren couldn't help but say, "Miss Granger, you're not scared, are you?"
Hearing Soren's words, Hermione blushed and pouted, "I'm not scared, Mr. Malfoy. I was just wondering why the levitation spell you used is different from what I learned in class?"
Before Soren could respond, a loud sound of footsteps suddenly approached from a distance. Professor McGonagall was at the front, followed closely by Snape, with Quirrell hurriedly trailing behind.
"Mr. Malfoy, this is a girls' lavatory; I think you owe me an explanation," Professor McGonagall said, pushing up her glasses, her voice cold with anger.
Snape bent down to examine the troll's smooth wound, lost in thought. As for Quirrell, he was shaking in fear after seeing the troll, having screamed hysterically before collapsing to the floor, clutching his chest and trembling.
At this moment, a low voice came from the shadows, "Please, Professor McGonagall, he was looking for me." Hermione finally struggled to stand up, "I came to find the troll because I thought I could handle it on my own, you know, because I read about them in books and know a lot about them."
Soren sighed and interjected, "Miss Granger, thank you for your concern, but you don't need to do that."
Soren turned to Professor McGonagall and explained, "The fact is, Professor, I heard someone say on the way to the dining hall that Miss Granger was in the girls' bathroom on the second floor. She has been in a bad mood due to some issues, so she stayed here instead of going to the dining hall. When Professor Quirrell announced the troll's appearance in the Great Hall, I thought Miss Granger might not know about it yet. If she continued to stay in the girls' bathroom, it could be dangerous. Although she is a Gryffindor, she is still my classmate, so I rushed over here to escort her back to the Gryffindor dorm safely. Who would have thought I would encounter a troll by such a chance?"
At this moment, Snape finished observing the troll, straightened up, and looked at Soren, "You casted a jinx in his eye and the Levitation Charm on the club? You can understand the advanced principles of the Levitation Charm now?"
"Yes, Professor," Soren replied calmly, "I can freely control the position of the object floating in midair and also make it fall rapidly as an attack—Professor Flitwick knows about this, and he even asked me to write a paper on my research findings to submit to 'Spell Innovations,' and invited me to join his Charms club..."
Professor McGonagall's gaze softened a bit as she said, "Mr. Malfoy, it seems you are indeed one of the most talented wizards I have ever seen. We will let today's incident go, but I must say that for a first-year student, facing a troll is still quite dangerous. I hope you will act more cautiously and thoughtfully next time."
"Understood, thank you, Professor!" Soren felt a surge of joy; it seemed that the treatment for top students was different. In the original novel, the professors unanimously believed that Ron had only defeated the troll by luck.
Hearing that Soren was praised by Professor McGonagall and had joined the Charms club—rumor had it that he had joined Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration club even earlier—Hermione felt a sense of defeat. She had been trying very hard; why was the gap between her and Soren getting bigger?
Seeing Soren appearing to accept her words with sincerity, Professor McGonagall's tone softened, "However, although your actions were somewhat reckless, they were aimed at saving a fellow student, and you ultimately defeated the troll with excellent ability. Slytherin gets twenty points, but this is the last time."
After saying goodbye to Soren, Hermione discovered Harry and Ron hiding around a corner on her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Ron said nothing—but Harry confessed to Hermione that they were worried about her safety, so they took the risk to find her. Then, under Harry's gaze, Ron also apologised to Hermione.
After this incident, the relationship between Hermione, Harry, and Ron became more close, and the three became good friends. Hermione no longer cared as much about breaking school rules, which made her much more endearing. Moreover, Harry and Ron often needed Hermione's help to complete their heavy homework.
The only disagreement among the three was about Soren. Harry and Ron still disliked the Malfoy family and other Slytherin students. Ron believed that in the troll incident, Hermione was merely used by Soren as a tool to gain attention and earn points for the house;
Although Harry didn't quite think that way, he still couldn't change his view on any Slytherin student; Meanwhile, the calm and rational Hermione had more complex feelings towards Soren...
His excellence was beyond doubt, and other students from different houses said that Soren was nothing like other arrogant and boastful Slytherins; on the contrary, he was very approachable, gentle, and polite. It was just unclear why he frequently found himself at odds with Gryffindor.
Soren was unaware of all these things, and even if he knew, he wouldn't take them to heart.