Halloween night. The Great Hall of Hogwarts was ablaze with light.
Thousands of live bats fluttered across the walls and ceiling, while the carved pumpkins beamed with flickering firelight from within.
But Rove was not at the dining table. He was walking alone through the empty corridors.
> [Quest: Find Missing Teammate]
> [Target: Hermione Granger (Elven Princess / Mage)]
> [Status: AWOL (>4 hours)]
> [Danger Level: Yellow Alert -> Red Alert]
"I knew it," Rove muttered under his breath. "Whenever a holiday rolls around, the forces of darkness start getting restless. It's standard villain procedure."
He passed a window and glanced at the night sky outside. The moon was obscured by dark clouds.
Just then, the sound of rapid, panicked footsteps echoed from the staircase.
Rove quickly darted behind a massive stone gargoyle, peering out with only his eyes.
> [Suspicious Unit Detected]
> [True Name Identification: Quirinus Quirrell (Gollum)]
> [Status: Panic (Feigned?) / Reporting Intel]
Professor Quirrell, wrapped in his large purple turban, came stumbling down the hall. His face was written with terror, and he was mumbling incoherently.
He didn't notice Rove hiding in the shadows and ran straight toward the Great Hall.
"Troll... in the dungeons... thought you ought to know..."
Rove caught the fragmented words.
His eyes instantly turned ice-cold.
"Gollum has surfaced." Rove tightened his grip on his wand. "He... he is drawing away the guards!"
Rove watched Quirrell disappear, then turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.
"A diversion," Rove analyzed internally. "If the Troll is in the dungeons, why didn't it attack the Hufflepuff dorms, which are closer? Unless... its target isn't the student body, but a specific student."
He thought of Hermione.
Miss Know-It-All, who hadn't been seen all afternoon.
"Damn it!" Rove quickened his pace. "If I don't find her soon, our Mage is going to be Orc dinner!"
He moved like an agile cat, weaving through the intricate staircases.
The smell in the air changed.
The faint scent of old socks began to turn overpowering.
> [WARNING: Abyssal Aura Detected!]
> [BOSS Approaching: Cave Troll of Moria]
> [Advice: Flee / Form a Party]
Rove stopped in his tracks.
He was standing outside the girls' bathroom on the second floor.
The foul stench was coming from inside.
And he heard something else.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The sound of massive feet striking stone slabs.
A colossal shadow was cast against the wall. It was a monster with a huge, deformed body, dragging a thick wooden club.
Rove held his breath.
Leaning against the corner, he pulled a piece of compressed biscuit ("Lembas") from his robe, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed vigorously before swallowing.
> [Stamina Recovering...]
> [Morale Boost: Death or Glory]
Then, he crouched down and retied his shoelaces tight.
He unhooked the frying pan from his belt, gripping it in his left hand. His right hand white-knuckled his Blackthorn wand.
"This is no longer a drill," Rove said to himself.
Right now, the Great Hall was probably in chaos. Dumbledore was likely restoring order. The Prefects were likely organizing an evacuation.
But here, in this small corridor, there was only him.
The massive shadow stopped at the door of the girls' bathroom.
It seemed to smell something inside. It let out a low, spine-chilling gurgle, then hunched over and squeezed into the room.
Immediately following that, a high-pitched, terrified scream pierced the silence.
It was Hermione.
Rove's pupils constricted violently.
> [Quest Update: Protect the Elven Princess]
> [Time Limit: Immediate]
> [Failure Penalty: Mage KIA]
No hesitation.
No waiting for Harry or Ron.
Rove took a deep breath and burst out from the corner.
His shadow stretched long in the torchlight, looking like a Don Quixote charging a windmill, or perhaps a lone Rider of Rohan facing down an army of thousands.
"Let them come!"
Rove let out a roar of fury.
And kicked the bathroom door open.