When the troll finally collapsed, knocked out cold by its own club, Draco Malfoy lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. Only now did he realize just how utterly foolish his actions had been.
He'd started out trailing Harry Potter and Ron at a safe distance, watching as they, too, spotted the troll. To his surprise, those two cowards didn't even try to fight it—instead, they "sneakily" locked the troll inside a room. (Well, "sneaky" from the troll's point of view, anyway.)
Malfoy's original plan had been simple: swoop in at the last second, just as Potter and Weasley finished off the troll, and steal the glory. But it turned out those two didn't even intend to fight the troll at all. Malfoy couldn't help but look down on their lack of courage.
After shutting the troll in, Harry and Ron had started heading back. Malfoy figured they must be off to fetch help. He decided to slip away himself, planning to alert Professor Snape or another teacher first.
But just as he was about to take another corridor, those two idiots actually doubled back, returning to the room where the troll was locked up.
What on earth were they thinking?
Malfoy had no choice but to follow, keeping a careful distance. He was determined not to let those two steal the spotlight. If he left to get help, and they finished off the troll before he returned, he'd lose his chance entirely.
So he edged closer.
He soon heard them shouting, "Adam, run!"—Adam being inside was a surprise. Then came the unmistakable bangs and clatters of a fight breaking out.
Malfoy crept nearer, hoping to see the troll on the verge of defeat.
But the reality was the opposite. The one getting trounced was the Weasley boy, and that idiot Harry Potter was hanging off the troll's arm like a ragdoll.
One was knocked flat, the other about to be flung across the room. They looked more likely to be finished off by the troll than the other way around.
Malfoy realized his golden opportunity was slipping away.
"Idiots!" he blurted, unable to contain his frustration.
For a split second, he considered just turning tail and leaving them to their fate.
But a glance at the troll's massive club told him he didn't have time to hesitate. With a grimace, Malfoy did the only thing he could—he copied Potter and grabbed onto the troll's other arm.
In that moment of chaos, as he wrestled with the beast, Malfoy's mind briefly wandered. He cursed himself: I must've drunk the wrong potion to end up as stupid as Harry Potter and that Weasley pauper!
But he was in it now, and he'd just have to see it through. He was a Malfoy—he would not back down.
He gritted his teeth, urging the others to come up with a plan.
Fortunately, even fools have their moments. The Weasley pauper finally proved useful, casting the Levitation Charm—the very spell they'd learned that day—at the critical moment.
The troll's own club flew up and smacked it right in its tiny head, knocking it out cold.
...
"You nearly got me killed!" Malfoy groaned, still sprawled on the floor, glaring at the ceiling.
"Don't mention it!" Ron replied, leaning against the wall with an air of exaggerated magnanimity.
Their conversation couldn't have been more mismatched—like a kneazle trying to chat with a grindylow.
Malfoy couldn't be bothered to argue. He just lay there, exhausted. The fight had lasted only moments, but it had drained every ounce of his strength. All he wanted was to lie still and avoid further conversation with these idiots.
Then a troubling thought crept in—had he actually stopped them from stealing the glory, or had he just helped them do it? The more he thought about it, the more the whole situation seemed to have spun out of his control.
...
...
After leaving the Gryffindor Tower, Qin Yu led Hermione swiftly through the corridors.
His first destination was the storeroom on the first floor of the main Hogwarts castle—the very place he guessed Harry and Ron would head.
When he arrived at the door, he was greeted by a rather unexpected sight.
Next to the mountain-like body of the unconscious troll, Harry was struggling to pull a very reluctant Malfoy to his feet. Malfoy looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else, scowling like he was being forced to do something deeply unpleasant.
Well, well...
Qin Yu's eyes swept over the scene.
The moment Malfoy noticed outsiders—especially Qin and Hermione—watching, he jerked his hand away from Harry's as if shocked. Not having his balance, he nearly toppled over again, and had to grab Harry for support, nearly pulling him down as well. Harry shot him a look of pure annoyance.
Just moments ago, the two had been working together against a troll. Now, they couldn't stand each other.
Tsk, Qin Yu thought, are they really that embarrassed? It's not as if they did anything shameful.
Of course, their relationship meant nothing to Qin Yu—he wasn't a "Drarry" shipper.
"So, which one of you is going to tell me what happened?" Qin Yu asked, cutting straight to the point.
He could piece most of it together from the scene, but he wanted to hear the story from the participants themselves.
Harry and Ron took turns recounting the highlights, while Malfoy kept his nose in the air, staring up at the ceiling as if speaking to Gryffindors was beneath him.
"...And, well, I guess we should thank Malfoy," Harry admitted reluctantly, glancing at him. "He did help a bit."
"Helped a bit?!" Malfoy exploded, eyes wide. "If I hadn't shown up, you and that Weasley idiot would've been troll chow!"
He immediately regretted raising his voice—if he annoyed Qin Yu, he might be in for it.
Luckily, Qin Yu said nothing, and Malfoy breathed a silent sigh of relief.
"In the end, it was me who used the Levitation Charm to knock out the troll and save Harry—and you," Ron added, a bit defensively.
"That was pure luck—you just flailed and got lucky with the spell," Malfoy muttered, refusing to concede.
He'd already mastered the Levitation Charm; if he hadn't been clinging to the troll, he would've finished it off himself. No way Weasley would've gotten the credit.
Watching the three boys bicker, Qin Yu found it hard not to laugh.
But he kept a straight face, speaking in a teasing tone:
"So, are you all hoping to split the glory for defeating the troll?"
"No—"
"Not at all—"
Harry and Ron protested at once.
Malfoy eyed Qin Yu warily, sensing the question was a trap.
Sure enough, Qin Yu's tone turned stern:
"You're all so eager to claim credit, but did it occur to you that sneaking out to fight a troll on your own, risking your lives, is a serious breach of school rules? You're going to be punished."
At the word "punished," the three boys finally realized the gravity of what they'd done. Headmaster Dumbledore had ordered everyone to stay in their dormitories, and they'd gone wandering off instead.
Qin Yu snorted. "Now you're scared? Just wait for your house points to be docked."
The three boys turned pale at once. Hermione, watching Qin Yu's slightly over-the-top performance, couldn't help but shrug. Sometimes, she thought, he really does enjoy winding people up.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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