Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Next, Kyle sat in the common room, constantly watching the Marauder's Map.
About ten minutes later, Quirrell's name finally appeared on the map.
Kyle's eyes lit up, and he got up and left the common room.
On the Marauder's Map, Quirrell hadn't gone to the Great Hall, but instead circled the castle.
Kyle followed behind him, but to avoid being discovered, the two… or rather, the three of them, were separated by a corridor.
With the Marauder's Map in hand, there was no fear of losing him.
After circling around, Quirrell finally stopped. Kyle looked around and hid in an empty classroom nearby.
A few minutes later, Quirrell's name began to move rapidly towards the Great Hall.
After confirming that he had gone far enough, Kyle immediately left the empty classroom, crossed an empty side corridor, and hurried towards where Quirrell had been.
Just as he turned the corner, a stench assaulted Kyle's nostrils.
The smell was even more potent than any potion Mikel had brewed; even though Kyle was prepared, the stench made him dizzy.
Then he heard a deep grumbling and the sound of enormous feet dragging on the ground.
Not far ahead of Kyle, a colossal creature, easily twelve feet tall, was moving towards him.
Its skin was dull and gray, like granite, and its small, walnut-sized head made it appear both massive and clumsy.
Furthermore, its short legs were as thick as tree stumps, with flat, calloused feet.
The nauseating stench emanated from it.
Kyle recognized it immediately; this was the troll he was looking for.
And the largest mountain troll at that.
"I'm rich!" Kyle excitedly took two steps forward.
Kyle's movement was naturally noticed by the troll, which roared and quickened its pace.
Since it was a two-way journey, the man and the troll quickly met.
The troll roared again, then raised the wooden club in its hand, seemingly wanting to smash the ant blocking its path.
"Wait a minute, I can take you to get something to eat!" Kyle shouted.
This shout worked; the troll immediately stopped moving, tilting its walnut-like head, trying hard to understand what he meant.
"You're hungry, I'll take you to get something to eat!"
Kyle repeated.
"Eat! Food!"
This time, the troll understood.
It put down its wooden club and made a series of unintelligible grunts.
"Yes, eat!" Kyle endured the stench, trying his best to appear friendly, and said, word by word, "Come with me, I'll take you!"
He tried taking a step back, and the giant immediately followed.
"Got it!"
Kyle was delighted, quickly took out a trunk, opened it, and placed it on the ground.
Now, all he had to do was find an opportunity for the giant to step on the trunk.
Kyle held his breath and took two more steps back.
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But then, something unexpected happened.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream made the troll drop its foot instantly.
It clumsily turned around, blinking stupidly, trying to see what had made the sound.
It quickly saw it: a tiny brown creature.
"Ah!!"
Hermione's scream grew louder when the troll noticed her.
The troll painfully pounded its head with its paw; in its ugly little eyes, Hermione's image gradually transformed into a round, grotesque hag.
In an instant, the troll lost all reason.
It forgot Kyle's presence and began walking towards Hermione.
"I..."
"***!"
Kyle was stunned.
One step, just one last step, and the troll would be his. But then Hermione appeared out of nowhere, completely ruining his plans. "
She's in the bathroom... what's she doing out here? Can't she cry a little longer?!"
Kyle angrily pounded the wall, chasing after the troll and shouting "Eat!" and "Food!" trying to attract its attention again.
He couldn't possibly just watch Hermione die.
But for some reason, the troll seemed fixated on Hermione, ignoring everything Kyle said.
Worse still, fear made Hermione's legs buckle, and she collapsed to the ground.
She huddled against the wall, seemingly on the verge of fainting.
The troll approached her step by step, raising its wooden club as it went.
"What's going on?!"
Kyle sighed, raising his wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The wooden club suddenly flew from the troll's hand, soaring high into the air before slowly turning and striking its master on the head.
With a loud bang, the troll swayed, then fell face down to the ground with a deafening crash that shook the entire corridor.
Hermione sat there, dumbfounded, and asked, "Is it... dead?"
"Pah! Pah! Pah! How could you repay kindness with enmity!"
Kyle quickly went over to check on the troll.
Thankfully, it still had a heartbeat.
Kyle breathed a sigh of relief.
If he could, he really didn't want to do it this way.
The troll was stupid, but at least it could understand him. Who knew if this blow would destroy even its remaining intelligence?
That was not the outcome Kyle wanted.
But there was no use thinking about it now.
Kyle summoned the trunk on the ground, preparing to stuff the troll inside, but then he thought for a moment and took out his wand first.
"Ventus!"
"Scourgify!"
After casting several cleansing spells, the troll was much cleaner, and the stench had lessened considerably.
Kyle was about to continue, but the sudden sound of hurried footsteps nearby made him change his mind, and he quickly stuffed the troll into the trunk.
"Remember, you didn't see anything." Kyle looked at Hermione, his expression serious. "There was no troll. You just tripped and fell, understand?"
Hermione stared, then nodded blankly.
"Good."
Kyle picked up the trunk and helped Hermione up as if nothing had happened.
"Hermione!"
"Thank goodness, you were here!"
Harry and Ron rushed over from the other side of the corridor.
"There's a troll in the dungeons!"
Harry gasped. "Headmaster Dumbledore told us all to go back to our dormitories. You... um? Kyle, you're here too?"
"Yes, I was just about to go to the Great Hall when I ran into Miss Granger."
Kyle smiled and asked, "You just said there's a troll in the dungeons? What's going on? How could there be trolls at Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I swear I'm not joking."
Ron said quickly, "Professor Quirrell told us. He fainted right after he finished speaking at the Halloween party."
"Is that so... that's really dangerous."
Kyle said seriously, "Trolls are not something we can handle. I'm leaving now, you guys should go back to the tower too."
Hermione didn't say a word the whole time. She looked at Kyle, utterly shocked.
That calm expression, that composed tone...
if she hadn't just witnessed everything, she would have definitely believed what Kyle said.
Why is he so familiar with this?
Is this guy really the top student in his grade?
[End of the chapter]