"A troll? In the school? Right now?! You have to be joking, right?!"
Ron couldn't care less that the person in front of him was Draco Malfoy, a sworn enemy of the Weasleys. He stared intensely into Draco's eyes, desperately hoping to see a hint of guilt or evasion, or even to hear that familiar, detestable drawl say something like, Leave it to a Weasley to be so thick. Anything would be better than this.
But things didn't go his way. Facing Ron's stare, Draco didn't flinch. Instead, a look of fear and irritation flashed across his face. He lowered his voice, practically growling at Ron, "Why would I joke about something like this? Or do you think a troll invasion is funny?
And didn't you hear those footsteps getting closer?!"
While he was yelling, Draco thought to himself: Weasley and 'Ronne' really are different. If it were Ronne, I wouldn't dare look her in the eye.
But he knew time was tight, and this wasn't the moment for such thoughts. He pointed toward the corner he'd just come from, his voice urgent. "Run, before it spots us!"
Hannah nervously clutched Hermione's sleeve, her voice trembling. "A troll... I've heard customers at the Leaky Cauldron talk about them. They're incredibly strong, and magic barely affects them. Even adult wizards try to get as far away as possible if they encounter one!"
Hermione's face looked grim too. As a Class XXXX magical beast, she had read about trolls in books. They had one glaring weakness: they had no brains.
But for a group of first-years who had barely mastered any spells, that weakness meant next to nothing.
Luckily, according to Malfoy, the troll was still some distance down the corridor. And since Draco himself was standing here, it meant this spot was safe for now—they still had a chance to get away.
Thinking this, her voice suddenly rose. "Listen to me! Since the troll is coming from that way, we can leave through the other end of the corridor! If we're fast, we can escape before it sees us!"
Her voice shook slightly, but she tried hard to stay logical.
Hearing this, everyone nodded. Even Draco only hesitated for a split second before deciding—he was running with the Gryffindors!
So, the next moment, the group of five sprinted toward the end of the hall.
"???"
Watching the little wizards take off running, Tom exchanged a bewildered look with Ariana beside him.
Leaving aside the fact that he didn't care about the troll at all (after all, aside from being a witch's cat, Tom had also been Jack's cat! Forget trolls—he'd taken down several giants!), even if they didn't want to fight the troll, his teleportation ability still worked, right?
Did these Gryffindors think running was faster than teleporting? Oh wait, there's a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff too.
Glancing at the group running in a 2-1-2 formation, Tom muttered to himself.
But since they chose to run, Tom naturally wouldn't offer any suggestions. After all, he was just a cat~
The group stumbled toward the corner at the end of the corridor. Ron, dragging Harry, was at the front, feeling like his heart was about to pound out of his throat!
But seeing the corner so close, excitement surged in his chest: Turn the corner. Just turn the corner and we're safe—
However, the moment they actually turned, they slammed on the brakes.
Draco, who was right behind them staring daggers at their joined hands, nearly crashed into Ron. "Weasley, what are you doing!"
Draco's tone was nasty. He'd had a chance to escape on his own and only stayed because he didn't want Potter and Weasley, annoying as they were, to die at the hands of a troll.
But now, they were finally about to escape, and Weasley suddenly stopped? Did he not know every second counted?!
Ron ignored Draco's anger. Face pale, he stared around the corner, his voice shaking. "Troll—"
"I know there's a troll behind us! That's why we're running this way!"
"No, I mean—there's one here too!"
At the end of the turn, in the familiar corridor, another massive, ugly black figure stood, practically blocking the entire hallway. Although it lacked the standard troll stench, that didn't change the fact that it was also a troll.
The monster was dragging a massive wooden club like a tree trunk, wandering aimlessly through the castle. But judging by its direction, its target was this corridor as well.
Seeing this, let alone Draco, even the usually calm Hermione went pale. She clamped her hands over her mouth, terrified she might accidentally scream and attract the troll.
Aside from Tom and Ariana, everyone else felt like the sky was falling.
"W-What do we do now?"
Hannah whispered, a sob in her voice. "Why are there two trolls? And why are there trolls in Hogwarts at all?! Tom, think of something!"
She looked at Tom, pinning her hopes on the magical cat.
Ron instinctively wanted to argue—even if Tom is terrifying, he's just a first-year wizard! How could he handle a troll?
But before he could speak, Hermione's eyes lit up. "Right, Tom! Quick, teleport us out of here! Anywhere is fine, just get us out of here!"
Ron immediately swallowed his words and slapped a hand over his mouth.
Of course! He'd just experienced the teleportation recently—how could he forget Tom had that move?!
With Tom here, never mind two trolls—even if hundreds of trolls were blocking the door, they couldn't touch them!
I was wondering why you guys insisted on running!
Tom rolled his eyes. He thought they wanted the exercise. Turns out they just forgot he could recall to base?
However... I refuse!
Seeing the hope ignite on the young wizards' faces, Tom flashed a mischievous grin and "righteously" turned them down.
Without Jerry as a sparring partner, he hadn't stretched his muscles in a long time. If he stayed this lazy, he'd turn into a useless cat! If he ever went back, that stupid mouse would beat him up!
Now that there was a rare chance to get some exercise, Tom wasn't going to miss it!
Without giving the students a chance to react, Tom bolted past the corner with a whoosh, heading straight for the twelve-foot-tall troll.
He aimed for its massive backside, lifted his right leg, wound it up like a spinning tire to charge his power, and then delivered a flying kick right on target. The next moment—
"EOOOOOWWW~!!!"
The troll didn't budge an inch. But Tom's blue face turned instantly beet-red. Clutching a foot that had swollen to the size of a ham, he hopped around on one leg, screaming in agony.
Although a troll is a living creature, its skin is as hard as rock. Tom's kick was no different from kicking a stone wall.
And so, our "invincible" Tom ate humble pie... again.