Looking at the robe Kyle handed over, Snape's face darkened like the bottom of a cauldron.
What did they mean by taking it back for careful identification? Did he look like someone who enjoyed sniffing foul odors?
Snape gave him a cold glance, neither taking the robe nor saying anything.
"I think Professor Snape is just too worried." Professor McGonagall said, smoothing things over, "It's good you didn't encounter the troll. You should head back now. The students are all enjoying the Halloween feast in their respective houses."
"Yes, Professor McGonagall."
Snape watched Kyle's retreating figure with resentment, then suddenly turned to find Quirrell cowering at the back.
"Quirrell, where exactly is this troll you mentioned?"
"It's... it's in the... underground classroom." Quirrell leaned against the wall, clutching his chest, "Really, it's fifteen feet... that tall..."
"But Dumbledore has already checked, and there's nothing in the underground classroom!" Snape said impatiently, "I suppose you find this amusing, don't you? Everyone abandoning the Halloween feast to foolishly search for a troll that doesn't even exist!"
"I... didn't... Severus... I didn't." Quirrell slowly slid down the wall to the floor, sobbing, "I don't know... where it went..."
"Perhaps it ran off somewhere else." Professor Flitwick pondered, "For the students' safety, we should search more thoroughly. I'll check the third floor."
"Then I'll take the fourth floor."
"Fifth floor for me."
Soon, the professors decided which floors they would each search and departed one after another.
"If I find out you're lying, or playing some kind of trick... you know what I mean." Snape gave Quirrell an icy look, "I'll be back for you!"
With that, he limped away.
Quirrell remained silent, still sitting on the floor sobbing, seemingly terrified. In fact, he was in a state of extreme confusion, not even registering what Snape had said.
Where was his troll... where was that massive troll? Gone in the blink of an eye?
He even began to doubt whether he had actually released the troll at all.
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After leaving, Kyle headed straight back to the Hufflepuff common room.
As soon as he entered, a crowd surrounded him.
"Thank Merlin, we were just about to look for you." Cedric said, "Lavender said you were in the common room, but when we came back you had already left."
"Why didn't you attend the feast today?"
"Thank goodness you're alright."
"You don't know — there's a troll in the underground classroom. My goodness, books say they're over ten feet tall!"
Everyone spoke at once, each person concerned about Kyle's safety.
"Thank you, don't worry, I'm fine." Kyle smiled, "I met the professors on the way, and then they came back."
"Professors?" Michael asked curiously, "Did they find the troll?"
"Probably not yet." Kyle shook his head, "But I think this news must be false. How could there possibly be a troll in Hogwarts?"
"But Professor Quirrell saw it."
"I think he must have been mistaken." Kyle said dismissively, "After all, Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professors have never been particularly reliable."
Michael seemed about to say something, but Kyle interrupted him.
"Can we talk about this later? I'm starving right now."
Having been keeping an eye on Quirrell, he hadn't even had a sip of water, and was genuinely hungry now.
"Alright..." Michael scratched his head embarrassedly.
The small tables in the Hufflepuff common room were now laden with all kinds of delicious food.
Though not as plentiful as in the Great Hall, the setup was convenient — if you needed anything specific, you could ask the house-elves, and they would bring it immediately. It was essentially a magical version of a buffet.
Kyle approached the table, took a bite of pumpkin pie, then ordered a large steak, which he finished in just a few bites.
Cedric and Kanna sat on either side of him. Having been too worried about his safety to eat much earlier, they now felt hungry too.
Cedric thought for a moment and ordered an apple pie for himself. Kanna, like Kyle, ordered steak — though she got three portions.
After eating, no one felt like sleeping.
The unconscious Professor Quirrell and the troll made for an interesting topic, and the young wizards sat in the common room eating desserts and discussing the matter until very late before returning to their dormitories.
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Late at night...
Kyle slipped out of the dormitory as usual, but tonight he didn't go to the library. Instead, he headed to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor — a place he hadn't visited in quite some time.
First, he inspected the plants to ensure they were growing normally. Satisfied that everything was in order, he retrieved his trunk from his Mokeskin pouch, opened it, and jumped inside.
The interior of the trunk had completely transformed. The small room below the entrance now housed a wooden bed, a table, and a large wooden bookshelf.
He had crafted these items himself, giving them a rather basic, almost abstract appearance. Kyle didn't mind though; in this space, functionality mattered more than aesthetics or comfort.
While the bed and table stood empty, the bookshelf was filled to capacity with parchment-bound volumes. Only the bottom row remained vacant.
"I didn't notice when I was here before, but there are already so many?" Kyle sighed.
He made a mental note to search the library for books about the Undetectable Extension Charm on his next visit. Though he could simply place another Mokeskin pouch here to solve the storage problem, that solution would be rather inconvenient.
After exiting the room, Kyle quickly located the troll lying on the ground, snoring loudly and showing no signs of waking.
He set several large buckets of oatcakes and meat he'd brought from the kitchen beside the creature. Then, taking out his wand, he directed lake water to flow around the troll.
This wasn't meant to contain the troll. Mountain Trolls weren't particularly active creatures — they typically remained wherever food was plentiful, and what Kyle had provided would keep it quiet for quite some time.
His main concern was actually the Chomping Cabbages.
He had previously transferred some mature Chomping Cabbages to this location, and to prevent them from approaching to "taste" the troll, the best solution was to create a water barrier between them.
It was common knowledge that toothed plants never willingly cross rivers or lakes.
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