T/N: New book in the area, folks! For those who like One Piece, feel free to check it out!
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When Hermione came to her senses, Kyle was gone, leaving only Harry and Ron looking at her with worried expressions.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked with concern, "Did you see the troll earlier?"
"What... I mean, of course not." Hermione shook her head, "Trolls are at least ten feet tall and emit a terrible stench. If I had seen one, I definitely would have run away."
"That's true." Harry scratched his head, realizing his question had been rather foolish.
If they had really encountered a troll, Hermione and Kyle wouldn't be standing there as if nothing had happened.
No matter how exceptional they were, they couldn't possibly handle a monster over ten feet tall. It was impossible.
Harry sniffed and said, "I'm glad you're okay. We should get out of here quickly."
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he had been faintly smelling something foul since earlier, which made him very uneasy. Perhaps the troll was nearby and could appear at any moment.
"I think you're being too anxious, Harry. Maybe there isn't even a troll." Ron said, less concerned. After a moment's thought, he added, "This is probably just a joke from Professor Quirrell to liven up the atmosphere. The professors will likely come soon to tell us to go back to the Great Hall. Don't forget, this is Hogwarts... Dumbledore is here."
"You have a point." Harry said.
Hearing Dumbledore's name made Harry feel more at ease, but he still felt something was off.
"Anyway, let's hurry back." Harry said, "At least until things are cleared up, we shouldn't let the professors see us here, or we'll definitely lose points."
The three of them quickly headed toward Gryffindor Tower.
Along the way, Harry and Ron discussed their earlier encounter with Snape, both convinced he was heading upstairs to the forbidden area.
Hermione, however, didn't say a word and quietly followed behind, seeming lost in thought.
As they were about to pass through the corridor, she suddenly asked, "Did you two come looking for me on purpose?"
"Yes, we heard from Parvati Patil that you had locked yourself in the bathroom," Harry said, "You weren't at the feast in the Great Hall, so you wouldn't have known about the troll. We wanted to let you know."
"But it seems now that it was a false alarm." Ron said with a shrug.
Hermione nodded slightly.
After a long pause, she said softly, "Thanks..."
"It's nothing, that's what friends do."
"Just don't lecture us next time."
"Hey, Ron..."
"Alright, I won't say anything more."
The three left the corridor and continued toward the stairs. Just as they turned the corner, they heard voices coming from ahead.
"I didn't see any troll, Professor." Not far away, Kyle stood among a group of professors, explaining innocently, "And there's a reason why I didn't attend the feast on time."
"Then tell us what it is." Snape drawled, "What was so important that it made you forget even the Halloween feast?"
Hearing that nightmarish voice, Harry instinctively shuddered and wanted to turn and run.
But that was clearly impossible now.
"You three, come here!" Professor McGonagall said coldly, "The headmaster made it very clear that everyone should return to their dormitories. Didn't you hear?"
Snape shot Harry a piercing glance, and Harry immediately forgot the excuse he had just thought of.
Harry looked at the ground, his mind completely blank. Whether it meant losing points or getting detention, he just wanted to escape from there as quickly as possible.
At that moment, Hermione said quietly, "Please don't, Professor McGonagall. They were looking for me."
"Miss Granger?" Minerva frowned.
Hermione stepped forward, head lowered, and said, "I went looking for the troll. I wanted to see what it looked like... I've only read about them in books, so I was curious."
Ron's eyes widened in disbelief — Hermione Granger was actually lying to a professor?
"They came to find me because they were worried about my safety."
Harry and Ron tried their best to look as if this story was familiar to them.
"If that's the case..." Professor McGonagall stared at them, her expression thoughtful, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, real trolls are far more dangerous than books suggest. You should be grateful you didn't encounter one."
"Yes, you're right..." Hermione lowered her head.
Harry couldn't speak. Hermione lying about breaking rules to save them from trouble was simply unbelievable.
It seemed as unlikely as Snape handing out candy to students.
"Miss Granger, Gryffindor will lose five points for this." Professor McGonagall said, "I'm very disappointed in you. Return to Gryffindor Tower immediately."
Then she turned to Harry and Ron.
"You two again. I believe your detention for dismantling armor on the eighth floor at midnight hasn't ended yet, and here you are breaking school rules again?"
"No!" Ron protested, his face reddening, "There was something hidden in that armor, I saw it..."
"At the time, I only saw you damaging it, and found nothing inside." Minerva shook her head, "I don't want to pursue this matter further. Don't let it happen again. And because you helped Miss Granger today, your previous detention is canceled. You may go now."
Harry and Ron were overjoyed, quickly slipping past the professors and rushing upstairs without a word.
Kyle also tried to leave with them, but Snape blocked his path.
"I believe I haven't heard your explanation yet."
Staring at Snape standing like a human barrier, Kyle was completely puzzled.
Wait, Harry was right there, so why was Snape still fixated on him? Had he changed his feelings about Lily that quickly?
With no other choice, Kyle stepped back to his original position and said, "Professor Sprout rewarded me with an Armor Pumpkin shell, and I was studying it in my dormitory, which is why I forgot about the feast."
"Hmm, an Armor Pumpkin..." Snape's nose twitched as he said, "If you were in your dormitory the whole time, why do you smell like troll?"
"Do I?" Kyle's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied, "I think it's probably the smell of compost... You know, the greenhouses are full of that stuff. Of course, if you don't believe me, you can take my robe for a closer examination."
As he spoke, he made to remove his robe.
Kyle knew very well that he had already used a cleaning charm on himself, so there couldn't be any smell. Snape was merely trying to trick him.
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