Draco froze, his eyes fixed on the figure in the moonlight, completely oblivious to the person beside him.
Gently, a large hand rested on his shoulder.
"Malfoy, what are you doing here?"
Behind Draco, a cat's face emerged from the shadows, like the Cheshire Cat with its terrifying grin from Alice in Wonderland.
His body immediately trembled like a sieve, and cold sweat involuntarily broke out on his forehead.
At the same time, after the Troll's wails subsided, some hurried footsteps became incredibly clear.
A moment later, Professor McGonagall appeared first from the other side of the corridor, followed closely by Filch, and then the slowly pacing Dumbledore.
"What in the world are you playing at!" Professor McGonagall snapped, her voice laced with icy fury, yet her eyes held an unmistakable worry.
"Why aren't you staying put in your common room!"
Looking at Professor McGonagall's angry expression, Draco couldn't help but feel relieved that Professor McGonagall hadn't noticed him yet.
However, the next moment, that relief vanished.
Snape walked over from this side of the corridor and immediately spotted him and Howl.
"It seems there's more than one or two rule-breakers," his tone was lifeless.
Howl's nose twitched, and he smelled a scent of blood on him. It wasn't the Troll's blood, but human blood.
He had some experience in this area and didn't think he was mistaken.
"Jones, I think you can hand him over to me," Snape said indifferently.
"Of course." Howl handed Draco over to Snape, and then the group walked towards the others.
Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had just figured out why Harry and Hermione were there and let out a sigh of relief, only to see them appear again.
Snape nodded imperceptibly at Dumbledore, signaling that all was well.
"Oh, it seems more has happened tonight than we imagined." Dumbledore gave a gentle smile, and his wand flickered, cleaning the blood off Harry.
"Tell me, Mr. Malfoy, why are you here?" Dumbledore looked at Draco.
"I wanted to warn Harry." Draco shrugged, feeling he hadn't done anything wrong, so he kept his expression as calm as possible.
"I saw him leave the Great Hall, and he didn't know about the Troll at all at first, so I came to find him."
Hearing this, the teachers present all looked a bit better.
"A commendable act, three points to Slytherin for your courage." Professor McGonagall nodded. She never showed favoritism to any house.
Draco didn't know what expression to use in response to this point addition. He let out two heavy breaths, an awkward smile on his face.
"Alright, I think you should go to the hospital wing. Miss Granger seems to have sprained her ankle. As for Potter, I think he should also get a check-up. If everything's fine, you can all return to your common rooms to enjoy the Halloween feast."
"I'll take them," Howl stepped forward and said.
Professor McGonagall nodded: "That's perfect. I think I need to hurry to the common rooms to see if there are any other children still wandering around."
With that, she smiled at the children, turned, and left.
After Professor McGonagall left, Snape followed closely, taking Draco with him.
Just as Howl was about to take the two children away, Dumbledore suddenly turned back: "Howl."
"Is there anything else?" Howl turned his head.
"I wonder if you'll have some time later. I'll be waiting for you on the fourth floor."
Howl looked at his face, which concealed everything, was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Alright."
On the way to the hospital wing, both children were pale-faced and silent, their hair disheveled.
"What are you thinking?" Howl asked.
He could probably guess what Harry was thinking, and honestly, it was normal to have such thoughts, after all, that creature looked too much like a human.
When its head was cut off and its abdominal cavity was opened, and the foul-smelling, warm blood gushed out, no child could remain calm.
It could be compared to a monkey being killed and dismembered; although it wasn't human, it was too similar, and the impact it had on people was very strong.
"I... I don't know." Harry hesitated, looking at his hands. Dumbledore's cleaning charm had done a good job of removing most of the blood from him, much better than his own. After all, he had tried, but it had no effect; the Troll's blood also had high magical resistance.
But even after it was cleaned, he still felt his hands were stained with blood.
"We... killed a life," Hermione said, her condition also very poor, her limping foot seeming completely less important than the chaotic thoughts in her mind.
"I'm sorry, everyone's hands will always get some blood on them, it's always been that way. At this moment, I can't think of any flowery rhetoric that can help you overcome this hurdle in your hearts.
But perhaps, you successfully protected yourselves and each other's lives. Getting the enemy's blood on you is a million times better than getting the blood of your loved ones and friends on you." Howl could only say helplessly.
Upon arriving at the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey, though saying it was nothing serious, still strictly insisted that Hermione must stay there overnight.
"Alright, I have to go. Oh, and here, this is for you." Howl handed a clover badge to Hermione.
"Mr. Jones, I can't take it." Hermione didn't know why Howl would give her something for no reason.
"I promised Chris I'd take good care of you, but I still failed, so I feel guilty," Howl said.
"No, it's just a sprained ankle..."
"Perhaps if you take it, I won't feel so guilty," Howl smiled.
"Uh... alright, thank you." Hermione could only accept the green charm.
"Then I'll be leaving now," Howl turned and said, then looked at Quirrell on the other side. Even though he was lying in the hospital bed, he still hadn't removed the purple turban from his head. He really didn't know how Madam Pomfrey allowed it...
"You don't seem that eager to go back," Harry said after Howl left.
Hermione froze, then nodded gently, her voice a little low: "I don't get along that well with my classmates."
"Is it because of me?" Harry suddenly said: "Because you're friends with Slytherin."
"No, it's not." Hermione quickly said, but she couldn't lie to Harry. She wasn't an old hand at hiding things like Snape or Dumbledore.
Just then, other sounds came from outside the hospital wing.
"Just for a moment, please? Please."
"Alright, only five minutes," Madam Pomfrey said helplessly.
A moment later, a peeking person appeared, with red hair and freckles. Harry immediately recognized him as Ron Weasley, Fred and George's younger brother.
He held some food in his hand, his face looking embarrassed. He looked at Hermione: "Professor McGonagall said you were hurt..."
"No, it's just some minor, unimportant injuries," Hermione said: "What are you doing here?"
"I came to apologize." Ron was serious and embarrassed: "I'm sorry, if it wasn't for what I said in Charms Class. I... I was really out of line, you just wanted to teach me... I'm really sorry. Especially after Professor McGonagall said you were hurt..."
"You're right." Hermione interrupted him, she said seriously:
"I do have a problem, and I intend to correct my bad habit of pointing fingers. As for apologizing, you don't have to worry too much about it."
Ron breathed a sigh of relief, taking out the food in his hand: "I brought some mango pudding, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Hermione looked embarrassed: "No, thank you for your kindness, but I don't eat mangoes, I'm allergic to them."
"Alright." Ron's expression became even more awkward, and he could only quickly slink away.
Hermione looked at Harry, stating firmly: "So... it's just that I had some conflict with my classmates. It has nothing to do with who I'm friends with. They can say what they want, I don't care, and they can't control it!"
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