Of course, that thought only went through Adrian's mind for a second. If he pushed Snape too far, the man would probably take away enough Gryffindor points to put them in the negatives for the rest of the year.
Adrian didn't really care about house points for himself, but he wasn't going to make the entire Gryffindor house suffer just so he could earn a few extra grade points.
So over the next few days in Potions class, besides quietly collecting stuff he needed for sleeping potions and practicing small spells under his desk, Adrian kept pretty quiet.
This preparation continued right up until Halloween. Adrian checked his system status and felt pretty happy with how things were going:
[Adrian Blackwood]
[Occupation: Wizard]
[Spells: Mortificus Curse Level 2 (265/400), Levitation Charm Level 2 (97/400), Transfiguration Spell Level 2 (382/400), Severing Charm Level 2 (84/400), Full Body-Bind Curse Level 2 (191/400), Shrinking Solution Level 1 (74/200)... (Additional spells omitted)]
[Theoretical Knowledge: Magical Item Crafting Level 0 (435/500), Potionmaking Level 3 (1/800), Basic Magical Theory Level 2 (218/400)]
[Magical Items:
-Wand (Yew wood, unicorn hair, eleven and three-quarter inches)
-Wand's Compatibility: 72.5%
-Magic Power: Medium]
[Academic Points: 107]
After almost half a semester of hard work, Adrian had upgraded all his known spells to Level 2, with big improvements in both power and how stable they were compared to Level 1 versions.
His Potionmaking knowledge had been the first to reach Level 3, while Magical Item Crafting stayed annoyingly stuck, he had no clue how to get better at that. The system points were enough for one Experience Card if things went wrong.
Getting ready for Halloween, pumpkin lanterns had been hung all over Hogwarts' Great Hall, each one enchanted by Dumbledore himself to give off a steady blue glow.
Peeves had started hiding inside various lanterns, jumping out to scare students before laughing like crazy and diving into another pumpkin. Adrian had to admit the ghost's tricks did make the holiday feel genuinely spooky.
At least Harry and Ron were properly scared, staying away from any glowing pumpkin they saw in the hallways.
"Adrian, what are you making all those spikes for?" Harry asked, watching worriedly as Adrian turned random wooden twigs into half-circle iron spikes.
The rough iron spikes were ugly but worked well, with thin, sharp points that gleamed coldly in the candlelight. Harry tried not to shiver.
"Just adding some Halloween fun for everyone," Adrian replied with an innocent smile.
"Fun?" Harry and Ron looked at each other worriedly.
"I'm kidding. Just practicing my transfiguration," Adrian said with a wave of his hand.
But his hands never stopped moving, using the Shrinking Charm to make each spike smaller before tossing them into his bag. The metallic clinking as they hit the others made Harry wince.
"By the way, where's Hermione?" Adrian looked around the Great Hall but didn't see their usual study buddy anywhere.
"Well... erm..." Ron's face went red as he struggled for words.
Harry finally took pity on him and explained how Hermione had heard Ron making mean comments about her earlier that day.
"I wasn't wrong though, she really is like that!" Ron protested, his face getting redder.
Adrian frowned. He'd been expecting this drama, but the timing was bad. After thinking for a moment, he stood up, grabbed his wand, and headed for the Great Hall exit.
"Adrian, the feast hasn't started yet. Where are you going?" Harry called after him.
"To find Hermione, obviously," Adrian replied, leaving Harry and Ron behind.
Leaving the lively Great Hall, Adrian took a familiar secret passage toward the abandoned girls' bathroom, originally planning to convince Hermione to leave before his troll fight got her in danger.
But halfway there, he changed his mind. He had no idea how long it would take to convince Hermione to leave, and more importantly, he didn't know exactly when Quirrell would let the troll loose. If he and Hermione were stuck in the bathroom when the creature showed up, fighting would be nearly impossible and escaping might be just as hard.
Better to stop the troll in a better location, away from anyone who might get hurt.
Having checked out the route ahead of time, Adrian quickly found a good corridor and scattered several of Hagrid's rock cakes in the middle of the hallway.
Each cake had been soaked with powerful sleeping potion, enough to knock out several grown wizards.
Why rock cakes? Well, Adrian figured, trolls weren't picky eaters according to his research. They'd eat almost anything. The rock cakes were easy to carry, otherwise useless (they'd been sitting in his room attracting flies), and if Hagrid the half-giant liked them, maybe full giants had similar tastes.
After finishing his preparations, Adrian hid around the corner. If he could beat the troll through being clever rather than raw magical power, he'd much rather avoid a direct fight.
There was only one life to lose, after all. Sometimes being careful really was better than being brave.
Less than a minute after Adrian finished setting up, he felt small vibrations through the floor. A terrible smell started drifting through the corridor, and his expression immediately got tense and nervous.
The troll had arrived.
The next moment, a twelve-foot-tall giant walked into view at the far end of the corridor.
The first thing Adrian noticed were its huge, dirty feet. The troll's body was like an enormous barrel made from rotting wood, painted a sickly green, with a tiny head that barely looked bigger than Adrian's own. The difference made the creature look almost funny.
Most worrying was the thick wooden club it dragged behind itself, the weapon scraping against the stone floor with sharp, grinding sounds that made Adrian's teeth hurt.
Adrian swallowed hard, finally understanding why Dumbledore had chosen a troll as one of the things protecting the Philosopher's Stone. The sheer size alone would make even experienced adult wizards think twice.
For a first-year student who hadn't even graduated yet, it was absolutely terrifying.
Adrian felt really grateful he hadn't chosen to fight the creature head-on. One solid hit from that massive club would probably send him on another unplanned trip through the afterlife...