In the girls' bathroom, Padma and Hannah knocked gently on the stall door together.
"Hermione, are you in there?"
The sobbing in the compartment gradually stopped, and Hermione choked and said, "Is that Padma? Why are you here?"
Padma gently responded to Hermione, "I'm not the only one here. The Stargazers from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are here too. Tom and the others went to settle the score with Weasley first, and now Parvati is leading them here. Hermione, please come out first. Everyone is worried about you."
A moment later, the compartment door creaked open and Hermione walked out with red eyes.
Padma stepped forward and gave Hermione a gentle hug, saying softly, "Hermione, we all know what happened. Honestly, why are you so upset about that idiot Weasley's nonsense? We all know how outstanding you are."
Hannah gently wiped Hermione's red eyes and comforted her together with Padma: "To be honest, I don't like Weasley either. His arrogance and conceit can't cover up the inferiority and jealousy revealed in his bones. It's not worth being sad for such a person. Hermione, look at you. You have so many good friends around you who care about you. Even those arrogant Slytherin guys are impressed by you. Why do you have to hide here and be sad all by yourself because of a Weasley?"
"Yes, Hermione, you are the smartest witch in the whole grade, and also the proud eagle of our Ravenclaw. It is really not worth it for a stupid Gryffindor lion."
The two of them comforted Hermione with words, trying to soothe her wounded heart.
When Hermione was led out of the bathroom by Padma and Hannah, she saw more than a dozen pairs of caring eyes. At that moment, she felt that she was really stupid for mistreating herself like that.
At this moment, Tom gave Draco a subtle push, and Draco stumbled forward.
Draco glared at Tom and opened his arms to Hermione: "Do you need a hug from me?"
Hermione was amused by Draco's pretentiousness. She hugged him and whispered, "Thank you, and sorry."
"Welcome back, Hermione," Draco whispered.
Harry also walked up to Hermione sheepishly and said to her sincerely with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Hermione, I'm also responsible for what happened this afternoon. I didn't stop Ron in time. I apologize to you on behalf of myself and Ron. I'm sorry."
Hermione shook her head and gave Harry a smile: "Harry, this is not your fault, you don't have to say sorry. And thank you."
Harry heard Hermione's words and responded with a smile: "Thank you, and welcome back, Hermione."
Tom felt like he was about to get goosebumps because of the embarrassing behavior of those three people. He turned his head away from them, clapped his hands and said to everyone, "Okay, Hermione's problem is solved. Now let's go back and enjoy the Halloween dinner."
"Yeah, great meal! Great meal!"
The Hufflepuff students were the first to cheer, and the cheers dispelled the gloom that had enveloped everyone when they arrived.
Just as everyone was talking and laughing as they rushed towards the auditorium, Tom, who was walking in the front, suddenly stretched out his hand to block the crowd and quickly drew out his wand.
"Take out your wands and get ready for battle. Something is coming." Tom reminded everyone in a low voice.
After hearing Tom's warning, the people following behind took out their wands and stared at the front with tense expressions.
The wheezing sound grew clearer as it approached from afar. Then everyone saw a huge gray-green hand grabbing the wall at the corner.
In an instant, everyone's faces turned pale, and they took a step back unconsciously, biting their lips tightly and not daring to make a sound.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, a behemoth twelve feet tall and weighing more than a ton walked out from the corner.
A massive body that nearly reached the ceiling, a bald head, skin as dull and gray as granite, and a nauseating stench. Arms that reached nearly to the knees, holding a thick wooden stick, gave off a tremendous sense of oppression.
Hannah couldn't bear the pressure and screamed, "Troll! How could there be a troll in the castle?"
Hearing the screams, the troll lowered his head and looked at the young wizards. As if he had found some interesting prey, his face revealed cruelty, and he excitedly rushed towards them, waving the wooden stick in his hand.
The young wizards, who encountered this situation for the first time, were trembling all over and in a mess.
"Ah~"
"what to do?"
"Think of a solution quickly!"
"Everyone is petrified!"
"Falling unconscious!"
...
Screams rang out one after another, and the randomly released spells had no way of breaking through the defense of the giant monster with extremely high magic resistance.
Thanks to Tom's rigorous training in Defense Against the Dark Arts, the young wizards may not have mastered other things, but they definitely mastered dodging. Under the troll's random attacks, they dodged quickly and no one was injured. However, if this continued for a long time, the young wizards would not be able to hold out for long.
"Calm down!" Just as everyone was panicking, Tom's soothing voice reached their eardrums. "Recall what you learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Let the green light redeem his soul."
Someone hesitated: "But he will go to Azkaban."
Tom remained calm. "It seems a 3-foot paper isn't enough for you. The troll is classified as a Class XXXX beast, and only if it attacks humans will it be sent to Azkaban."
Cassandra, who had calmed down first after hearing Tom's words, raised her wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
Seeing Cassandra taking the lead, the others raised their wands and shouted at the troll, "Avada Kedavra!"
The brilliant green light illuminated the dim corridor, so intense that it was impossible to open your eyes.
Just as Tom said, there is nothing in this world that can't be solved with one big shot. If one shot doesn't work, then try a dozen.
Tom also delivered the final blow at the right time: "Fool! Meet your death! Avada Kedavra!"
Magic and murderous intent converged, madness danced in the corners of Tom's eyes, the thick green light overwhelmed everyone, and the god of death's scythe swept towards the troll mercilessly.
"Bang!"
Green light bombarded the giant monster, and its 12-foot-tall body fell to the ground with a deafening sound.
"This is the killing curse..."
Seeing the troll die instantly without any pain, many people stared at their wands and muttered to themselves. It was obvious that it was not easy to calm down after using the wand on a living creature for the first time.
What's more, when Harry used the Killing Curse to reap the troll's life, an unsettling woman's scream faintly rang in his ears, and he still couldn't calm down.
The fall of the giant monster was met with silence from the crowd. There was no joy of victory at all, and a depressing atmosphere spread in the corridor.
Until a sharp shout broke the silence.
"Harry—there's a troll!" Ron shouted as he ran frantically. "Harry—where are you? A troll has run into the castle. Run!"
Then the voice stopped abruptly. All Ron could see was the fallen troll, a dozen pairs of cold eyes staring at him, and a dense array of wands pointing at him.
The strong impact of the scene made his brain freeze for a moment. He couldn't help swallowing and asked tremblingly, "If I say I accidentally got lost here, do you believe me?"