Chapter 69. Dealing with the Troll
Just then, a beast-like roar reached the two of them.
"Let's go, Professor Snape," Adrian Wesson breathed a sigh of relief, finally latching onto a topic. "Looks like the professors have found the troll."
When Wesson and Severus Snape arrived at the scene, most of the professors were already there.
Even Quirrell was there.
Compared with the original story, the plot did not seem to have changed much.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing with their heads bowed, receiving a lecture from Professor McGonagall.
When Wesson arrived, Harry glanced up at him, looking a bit ashamed.
But Wesson didn't think there was anything to be ashamed of.
Reckless, yes—but he appreciated it.
So he gave Harry a reassuring look.
There were many professors present and, by unspoken agreement, everyone left the task of dealing with the three little ones to Professor McGonagall.
Of course that was reasonable—after all, she was Head of Gryffindor House.
While Professor McGonagall was lecturing them, Wesson patted Quirrell on the shoulder.
Quirrell almost jumped out of his skin.
"Don't be nervous, Professor Quirrell." Wesson gave him a kindly smile. "I'm just a bit curious—where did you get the troll?"
Quirrell's face turned instantly pale. He stammered, "I… I… th-that troll, I found it in the F-Forbidden Forest… I locked it i-in a c-classroom."
The Forbidden Forest? Wesson nodded.
Indeed, there were big brutes living there; Wesson had run into them back when he was at school.
Even so, he felt Quirrell had overdone his performance at the Hallowe'en feast.
He could capture a troll alive in the Forbidden Forest, yet faint because it got loose?
That made no sense at all.
At that moment, Professor Flitwick shuffled over in his little steps, puzzled. "Professor Quirrell, I have a question—how did you let the troll get out?"
Wesson glanced at Professor Flitwick and noticed the disappointed look on his face.
No wonder—Quirrell had been a Ravenclaw, and Professor Flitwick was his Head of House.
Quirrell hunched his neck, voice trembling and eyes unfocused. "I… I locked the troll in an underground classroom… but… but when I went back to check, the troll was gone… and… and there was a big hole in the wall…"
Professor Flitwick's voice leapt an octave; his naturally high tone became even more piercing. "Oh, Professor Quirrell, how could you be so careless…"
Before long, Professor McGonagall had the sequence of events.
It was more or less what Wesson had imagined—Harry and Ron went to look for Hermione, and the three of them together brought down a troll.
In any case, for three first-years who had only just started school to defeat a troll together was praiseworthy.
In the end, Professor McGonagall awarded five points each to Harry and Ron, and deducted five from Hermione—net gain of five points to Gryffindor.
For the three of them, that was probably a decent outcome.
For Wesson, it was not a perfect evening—not only had the Hallowe'en feast fallen through, he had also got into a duel with Snape, and the newly healed scars on his face still throbbed faintly.
Perhaps he could pop down to the kitchens later.
After Harry, Ron, and Hermione left, only the professors and an unconscious troll remained.
Which raised the next question: how to deal with this troll?
"Professor Wesson."
Hearing his name, Wesson looked up and found Dumbledore smiling at him.
"The troll is yours to handle, Professor Wesson," Dumbledore said. "Take it outside or deep into the Forbidden Forest—as you wish. Just be sure it's a good distance from the castle."
"Leaving it to you," Professor McGonagall added with a nod. "Be careful, and don't let it get out again."
None of the other professors raised any objections.
Wesson could only agree.
Then, before he could reply, Dumbledore announced, "All right, everyone, tonight's business is concluded. You've all worked hard—back to bed."
The professors nodded and left one after another.
Before leaving, Snape shot Wesson a cold, warning look. "Don't do anything unnecessary."
Wesson glared right back.
It seemed Snape's suspicions weren't laid to rest—but this time Wesson felt Snape wouldn't go so far as to tail him.
Soon, only Wesson was left.
What to do, then?
He looked at the unconscious troll and nudged it with his foot.
The troll stirred at once, rolled over, and began to snore.
…Could it really sleep like this? Trolls indeed.
To Wesson, the troll in front of him was of no use.
Nothing on a troll was worth much.
Except perhaps its whiskers, which might be used as wand cores—
But Wesson doubted anyone would actually use a wand with a troll-whisker core—unless the person had a brain just like a troll's.
Only someone like that would deserve such a wand.
After casting a Levitation Charm on the troll, Wesson had some Devil's Snare tug the floating bulk along as he headed for the Forbidden Forest.
Near the forest's edge, he ran into Hagrid.
Hagrid's towering figure emerged from the shadows, a swaying oil lamp in his hand.
"I've been patrollin' round here," he explained. "Some students might try ter sneak out in tonight's commotion."
Then he noticed the troll bobbing along behind Wesson and stared. "Yeh found the troll, did yeh? Thank goodness—anyone hurt?"
Wesson smiled, tapped the troll's head with a small Exploding Charm to send it into a deeper sleep, and said to Hagrid, "Don't worry, Hagrid. No one's hurt—Harry and the others were a bit frightened, that's all. In fact, they worked together to knock the troll out."
"Tha's grand!" Hagrid looked a little amazed. "Hold on… tha' was Harry, was it? Eh?"
Wesson nodded, then led the troll toward the Forest. "I've got to go—Dumbledore asked me to put the troll back in the Forbidden Forest. I hope I can still make it back in time for supper."
"I can get the Thestrals ter help yeh," Hagrid beckoned for Wesson to follow. "They're nearby."
Help from Thestrals—splendid.
Hagrid led Wesson down a narrow path toward the Thestrals' roosting ground.
Along the way, Wesson told him what had happened that evening, and Hagrid answered Wesson's question about why there would be a troll in the Forbidden Forest.
"Professor Dumbledore told me once the headmaster three generations back thought trolls could be trained ter guard Hogwarts. Trouble is, tha's easier said than done… big lugs like these've got next to no brains."
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