The professors searched the castle all night, opening every door and checking every secret passage, almost turning Hogwarts upside down, but by dawn, they still hadn't found any trace of the troll.
As a result, Quirrell became the target of blame.
Faced with the professors' skeptical gazes, Quirrell shrank into a corner, sobbing, "I might have... seen it wrong.
You know... it's very dark in the underground classroom... it might have been armor... or a statue or something..."
"There are no such things in the underground classroom!" Snape said coldly, his face sullen, "Besides, I think any normal person couldn't possibly mistake armor for a troll, right?"
"But... but, I... I..." Quirrell stammered, unable to speak.
He truly didn't know what happened. That troll was released by him personally, so how did it suddenly disappear!
A troll over a dozen feet tall just vanished into thin air, without making any noise... Has Hogwarts become this dangerous?
"Maybe you've been thinking too much lately, causing hallucinations."
Snape suddenly said sinisterly, "I suggest you drink some potion. How about tomorrow, I'll deliver it to you myself, ensure you're brimming with energy."
"No... Severus... no need..."
Quirrell shook his head repeatedly, "I have potions... there's no need to... trouble you..."
He didn't dare drink any potion given by Snape, who knows if it contained Veritaserum or something.
"It's okay, it's just a Stimulant Potion, nothing troublesome about it." Snape didn't intend to let Quirrell off easily, he said again.
He seemed to enjoy being helpful,
"Really... no need..."
Seeing Snape's gloomy face, a cold sweat broke out on Quirrell, fearing he would be forced to take the potion.
Fortunately, at this moment, Professor Flitwick suddenly asked, "Minerva, what should we do now."
Quirrell was like being granted amnesty, immediately shrinking to the back of the crowd.
Professor McGonagall gave him an unhappy look, then said, "Notify the Prefects, have the students come to the auditorium, this farce should end."
...
Not long after, under the lead of the Prefects, the students arrived at the auditorium.
The professors were already waiting there in advance, except for Snape.
Last night he was bitten by Fluffy, only managing to maintain himself in the castle for the night with some Dittany Essence, now he had returned to his office.
In the auditorium, Professor McGonagall stood at the front, informing everyone that the troll was no longer in the castle.
The crisis was resolved.
The young wizards immediately cheered.
"I told you already... there was no troll at all."
At the Gryffindor table, Ron said excitedly, "Seriously, I go through pranks like this at least twice a week, and you guys still don't believe me!"
But everyone was busy celebrating, no one paid attention to what he said.
Only Harry patted his shoulder, smiled and said, "I owe you an apology, my friend."
Although Hermione also heard, she didn't tell the two the truth, instead, she was standing on tiptoe, trying to see towards the Hufflepuff section.
There, Kael was clapping like everyone else, showing no signs of abnormality.
"Is this person really the youngest winner of the Special Contribution Award to the school?" Hermione once again fell into self-doubt.
Kael naturally didn't know what Hermione was thinking, of course, even if he knew he wouldn't care.
As long as Hermione could keep the secret, it was fine.
For some time after, Kael would make time every day to come to the suitcase, trying to tame the troll.
Though the troll was dumb and slow, unable to use magic, his combat power wasn't bad. With thick skin and great strength, it could definitely serve as a tank in the front row.
Also, being dumb had its advantages, it meant less thinking, easier to command.
For Kael, this wasn't a difficult task.
Every time he came, if the troll showed any sign of attack, he would beat it without hesitation.
Kael was measured with his beatings, not too heavy, but enough for the troll to feel pain, then he would leave some food before departing.
Using the carrot and stick approach, the troll soon calmed down, and when he saw Kael later, he would no longer show aggression, only offering a foolish grin.
...
Someone had spread the story, and within a few days, everyone knew it was Professor Quirrell who, due to his timidity, mistook an unknown shadow for a troll, which caused the Halloween feast joke.
This turned the unpopular Professor Quirrell into a laughingstock.
It was the first time they saw such a timid professor, they wondered how he dare to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
Fred and George even started a betting game, guessing when Professor Quirrell would leave Hogwarts, and what his ultimate fate would be.
Initially, they just wanted to have some fun, but unexpectedly, many people participated, the young wizards didn't mind spending a few Knuts or Sickles to have some fun.
Over a few days, the money they collected added up to around a dozen Galleons.
This unexpected success soon made the twins a bit heady, and during one meal, they excitedly told Kael:
"This makes money much faster than selling stuff!"
Fred patted his jingly purse, "It's almost like picking up money."
Kael looked up and asked, "How many are involved now?"
"Currently one hundred and twenty-nine people." George replied immediately, "People from all four houses."
"So many..." Cedric said incredulously.
He previously thought there would be at most twenty or thirty people
"Now Professor Quirrell's popularity is high..." Fred said, "Any topic related to him always draws attention."
"What about you, do you want to participate?" Fred shook his purse and asked.
Cedric and Conna shook their heads simultaneously, they weren't interested in such things.
But Kael thoughtfully stroked his chin.
"Sounds interesting." He asked, "What's the rule?"
"It's simple..." Seeing Kael's interest, Fred smiled more happily.
"Two choices, the time when Professor Quirrell leaves Hogwarts and his ultimate outcome. As long as you guess correctly, we refund double."
"How about it, isn't it generous?"
Kael nodded.
"Right, so which one do you want to guess?"
"I'm guessing both." Kael took out a handful of Galleons and slapped them on the table.
"Here are twenty Galleons, do you dare to take it."