The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 24 Halloween Boss: Giant Monster

After convincing Hermione, Ryan suggested that they go to the library to study together. However, Hermione thought that her red and swollen eyes, which looked like she had just cried, were not suitable for her to make a fool of herself in front of her classmates, so she thought it was better to study in this empty classroom.

Ryan had no choice but to go upstairs to the dormitory to get his schoolbag, and then returned to the empty classroom. Hermione had already washed her face and cleaned up the two desks.

Hermione took out the notes Ryan had copied from the class she missed in the morning and began to make up for the class she missed in the morning. While copying, she said to herself, "Oh my God, I can't believe I missed a class because of this. The Levitation Charm is a very important spell. It is said that it will be tested in the final exam."

Time passed slowly as he studied. After finishing all the homework assigned for today, Ryan looked out the window and found that it was beginning to get dark.

"Oh no, I think it's past dinner time now. We have a Halloween party today. I heard that the Halloween party at Hogwarts will be very sumptuous, and the hall will be decorated beautifully. Plus, this is our first holiday party at Hogwarts, so I think we can't miss it. Let's run faster, maybe we can catch up with the party."

The two packed up their books and were about to push the door open to go out when they suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor. Ryan seemed to have thought of something, and he grabbed Hermione who was about to open the door to go out, then opened a crack in the door and peeked out.

When Ryan saw that it was Harry and Ron running over, he opened the door and walked out.

……

After the morning class, Harry and Ron found that Hermione had not appeared all afternoon, and Ryan just went upstairs to get a schoolbag and disappeared in a hurry.

At dinner time, they went downstairs to the dining room to attend the Halloween party. They overheard Patil tell her friend Lavender that Hermione was doing homework with Ryan in an empty classroom on the first floor. Although her eyes were still a little red and swollen, she didn't hide in the toilet to cry like she did at noon. She envied Hermione for having such a friend.

Ron looked a little uncomfortable after hearing this. He said to Harry, "Because Ryan is a bit nerdy, he can be friends with Hermione."

Harry said, "I know you feel a little uncomfortable because Ryan asked you to apologize to Hermione at noon, but if he hadn't organized everyone to discuss homework in the common room, I might not have been able to finish my homework recently. You know, Quidditch training takes up a lot of time."

A moment later, when they walked into the restaurant and saw the colorful Halloween decorations, they immediately forgot about Hermione and the others.

A thousand bats fluttered about the walls and ceiling, and a thousand more hovered in a low cloud over the table, making the candles in the pumpkins flicker. Delicacies suddenly appeared on golden plates, just as at the first-term feast.

Just when Harry and his friends were enjoying their meal, Professor Quirrell suddenly rushed into the restaurant, his scarf tilted on his head, his face full of horror. Everyone stared at him, and he walked to Professor Dumbledore's chair, leaned on the table, and panted, "The troll - in the dungeon - thought you should know."

After saying this, he fell headfirst to the floor and fainted.

The restaurant suddenly became chaotic, and Professor Dumbledore had to make several sharp fireworks explosions from the tip of his wand before everyone quieted down.

"Prefect," he said in a low voice, "lead the students from your college to the dormitories immediately."

Percy naturally led the students of the house to the Gryffindor Tower with ease.

On the way, they met some people rushing in different directions. Many people had nervousness on their faces, and some timid girls were even sobbing quietly.

When they walked for a while and squeezed through a group of confused Hufflepuff students, Harry seemed to think of something. He grabbed Ron's arm and said, "I remembered that Hermione and Ryan don't know about the troll yet. I think we should go and inform them." Ron bit his lip.

"Oh, all right," he said decisively, "but it'd be best if Percy doesn't see us."

They ducked down, blending in with the Hufflepuff crowd, and headed in the other direction. They walked through the empty side corridor, and just as they turned the corner, they heard hurried footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" Ron whispered, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.

They looked behind the stonework and saw that it was not Percy but Snape, who walked down the corridor and disappeared from their sight.

"What is he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the other teachers?"

"How should I know!"

They followed Snape's receding footsteps and walked quietly down another corridor, trying not to make any noise.

The rest of the way went by without any problems. Harry and his friends just turned a corner and came to the road in front of the classroom where Ryan and his friends were studying. They saw Ryan coming out of the back door of the classroom. "It's lunch time now, what are you two doing here?"

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly a smell of stinky socks and a public toilet that was never cleaned hit him, and then the four of them heard a low grunt and the sound of huge feet dragging on the ground.

Ryan's face changed drastically, and he immediately called Harry and Ron to hide in the classroom. Then they held their breath and hid in the dark corner of the classroom.

Through the glass on the classroom door, they saw a huge creature walking past the classroom, and with the moonlight shining in from the corridor window, they found that it was a giant monster.

It was twelve feet tall, with dull skin, gray as granite, and a huge, clumsy body like a huge pile of mud, with a small head like a cocoa bean on top. Its short legs were as thick as tree stumps, and below them were flat, rough, calloused feet. The smell emanating from its body was disgusting. In its hands, it held a thick wooden stick, which was dragging on the ground because of its long arms.

Behind them, Hermione covered her mouth and let out a suppressed cry. After listening to the troll's footsteps slowly walking away, the four people came to the door and looked towards the corridor.

They saw the troll stop by a door and peer in. It wiggled its long ears, made a decision with its little head, then lowered its head and slowly slid into the room.

"The key is in the lock," murmured Harry. "We can lock it in, so it can't get out and hurt anyone."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

They sidled toward the open door, their mouths dry and their hearts hoping the troll wouldn't suddenly burst out. Harry leaped, key in hand, and slammed the door shut, locking it firmly.

"It's done!"

(End of this chapter)