From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

“Of course not!” Hermione declared firmly, like a lioness.

“That’s because you’re not strong enough,” Ivy concluded. “You need to become stronger, and you need to make them know that and acknowledge that. Then people will treasure your goodwill and regard your advice as truth.”

Hermione's little face scrunched up as she racked her brains. Although Ivy's words made sense, she still instinctively wanted to argue.

“Perhaps…” the little witch’s voice sounded full of self-doubt, “that what the majority agrees on is right.” She thought of the Gryffindor group of troublemakers who never followed the school rules.

Ivy couldn't help but chuckle: "Haha, you know what? Most people believe that 'truth is only in the hands of a few,' because they all think that they are the few who hold the truth."

“Okay. Maybe you’re right.” Hermione gave up thinking and turned to Ivy for advice. “Then what should I do? You know, I’m just a first-year student, not an ancient wizard from over a hundred years ago.”

“Oh, don’t underestimate yourself, Hermione.” Ivy wagged her finger. “You’re the smartest witch I’ve ever met. All you need is a little time and help. And I happen to be able to help.”

“Although Mom always says to do things yourself,” Hermione said, seemingly determined, “she’s not a witch, so how would she understand the troubles of young wizards?”

“Great. First step,” Ivy nodded. “Enjoy the Halloween dinner! You’re only a freshman, you have plenty of time, no need to rush.”

The Slytherin first-year students' Charms class is the last class this afternoon, after which it's dinner time.

Although it wasn't completely dark yet, all sorts of pumpkin lanterns had already begun to light up the castle. These were all special varieties that Hagrid had personally bred, and they were unusually large.

With such a wonderful festive atmosphere, how can we not enjoy it to the fullest?

“It only happens once a year…” Hermione bit her lip. Although she was a strong-willed and impatient person, she also had a taste for enjoying life. “It’s time to enjoy the holiday atmosphere. So, when will your help begin?”

“Maybe we can do it now…” Ivy glanced toward the castle. A furtive figure had just emerged from the edge of the Forbidden Forest, bypassed Professor Sprout’s greenhouse and garden, and was about to enter the castle.

"What? Didn't you say we should enjoy the banquet first..." Hermione was very puzzled.

"Hush—" Ivy cast a Disillusionment Charm, concealing Hermione and himself from the Black Lake. "Look over there! Right next to the greenhouse."

"...Who is it?" As darkness fell, Hermione couldn't see clearly anymore, but the high-rising turban on the figure's head gave him away. "Professor Quirrell? What's he doing there?"

“Maybe it’s to add some festive atmosphere to Halloween Eve.” Ivy laughed, recalling the part where Quirrell brought a troll into the castle to distract the other faculty and staff in order to get the Philosopher’s Stone.

"Here, try this." Ivy directed an elemental orb to Hermione's hand; it was crimson and emitted a firelight.

"What is this? How do you use it? I heard you made it yourself? Was it inspired by Harry's flying broom?" Hermione asked a series of questions, holding the warm crystal ball in her hands. "I don't see any connection between it and the flying broom..."

“You can think of it as a weapon. Just aim it at your target and say: Fire ball!” Ivy placed her hand on the elemental orb and aimed it at the lake.

A fireball, gleaming brightly, hurtled from the elemental orb towards the calm surface of the Black Lake, bursting into flames with a low roar. Steam and water sprayed forth, and waves surged across the vast lake.

Chapter 44 Fireball!

Smelling the aroma of roasted pumpkin that filled the entire castle, Hermione asked reluctantly, "Do we really have to go looking for Professor Quirrell's holiday surprise, Ivy?"

“Of course.” Ivy didn’t turn around; he kept a watchful eye on everything around every corner of the corridor.

“But that’s Professor Quirrell.” Hermione hugged the Elemental Orb in her arms. Because she wasn’t very good at dealing with flying brooms, she couldn’t do much with the Elemental Orb, which worked on the same principle as the brooms. She couldn’t manipulate it to spin and fly around her as freely as Ivy could.

Seeing Ivy turn her head, Hermione continued to explain, "Although it's not something students should do to talk about professors behind their backs, Professor Quirrell is really quite harmless. It would be nice if he could prepare a little 'surprise' for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Quirrell's disguise seems to have been very successful; at least these first-year wizards haven't figured out his true identity.

“Don’t worry,” Ivy said reassuringly. “I’ve already told the kitchen to leave us some food, so at least I can guarantee you won’t go to sleep hungry.”

“Okay,” Hermione replied listlessly, glancing back at the commotion behind her. She knew it was the direction of the Great Hall, which, like the opening banquet, was now decorated for Halloween.

But right now, all she can see are cold, lifeless walls and empty picture frames; even the portraits have gone off to have a banquet.

Walking through the empty, deserted corridors made Hermione feel as if she had entered another world.

Perhaps she should find a place to have a good cry, instead of following Ivy down the hallway looking for some Halloween surprise...

Hermione stole a glance at Ivy, and his handsome face did indeed soothe her emotions a lot.

It's not bad now, I'm not friendless! Ivy will help! Seriously, he's a really charming person…

Hermione was a little indignant, but also secretly pleased.

But he's a Slytherin, and maybe he even knows a bit of dark magic... Oh, I have to stop him before he becomes a dark wizard, for my friend's sake!

The little witch's emotions were like a rollercoaster, going in and out of control in an instant. She followed closely behind Ivy, her mind filled with all sorts of thoughts.

At some point, the sweet scent that had always surrounded the castle disappeared, replaced by an indescribable stench, like a father's smelly socks mixed with an unattended public toilet.

"Uh...is the toilet leaking somewhere?" Hermione looked around and chose a more polite way of putting it.

“This means we’ve come to the right place,” Ivy said.

"What?" Hermione pinched her nose. "This is Professor Quirrell's surprise? He's at least a professor; he shouldn't be playing with dung balls in the hallway like Fred and George!"

“Oh.” Ivy cast a Bubble Charm on both of them to block out the stench. “It’s probably not an ordinary dung ball, but a moving mountain of shit.”

Hermione clearly didn't understand, but she still showed a rather terrified expression.

Ivy gave her a push, letting her turn the next corner on her own.

The sight before her made her take a deep breath; a monster the size of a small mountain was standing in the middle of the corridor.

It was twelve feet tall, with dull, gray skin like granite. Its massive, clumsy body resembled a huge pile of pebbles, topped with a small head the size of a cocoa bean. Its short legs were as thick as tree stumps, with flat, calloused feet underneath. It also carried a thick wooden stick in its hands, which dragged on the ground because of its long arms.

"A troll! Professor Quirrell's Halloween surprise is a troll!" Hermione turned around in horror, only to find that Ivy had already disappeared.

"Bang!" A burst of sparks exploded in the middle of the corridor, attracting the attention of the only two creatures in the corridor.

Hermione swallowed hard, bracing herself for a possible scream.

The troll clumsily turned around and met the gaze of the stiff little witch.

"Ahhhhhh!" Hermione screamed desperately, the sound waves causing the bubbles surrounding her head to tremble irregularly before disappearing with a "pop."

"Ugh... Ugh..." The intense stench choked Hermione's scream back into her stomach. She bent over and dry-heaved in a pathetic state.

The high-pitched screams and the echoes from the corridor walls undoubtedly enraged the foolish giant, who dragged its clumsy feet and charged at Hermione, brandishing its wooden club.

The wooden stick collided with the wall, scattering gravel and paint everywhere, but the noise made Hermione realize that she was in a rather dangerous situation.

She had barely raised her head when the grayish giant was already right in front of her.

Without a second thought, Hermione raised the Fireball in her hand and shouted with all her might, "Fireball!!!"

An enormous fireball shot out from the elemental orb and collided with the giant monster in front of them.

The intense flames were followed by a shockwave from an explosion. The entire corridor was first set ablaze, then extinguished by the flying gore and flesh of the giant monster. Everywhere was filled with all sorts of gruesome, charred flesh and blood. Picture frames and wall paint were completely ruined, and even the metal armor at the end of the corridor was torn to pieces.

Hermione was also thrown far away and landed on the ground with a "thud".

She blinked, got up from the ground, and was surprised to find that she was not injured at all, not even a single hair was singed, except that her nose had been attacked by the troll's body odor. However, in the midst of the raging flames, the troll's stench turned into the stench of a burnt corpse.

Looking at the mess in the corridor, she couldn't close her jaw for a long time.

The elemental orb in her hand had lost its warm red glow and turned into a dark crystal ball. Hermione held it up to her eyes and it took her a while to realize that the culprit behind everything was this seemingly harmless crystal ball.

“Ivy!” Hermione screamed.

“It’s my pleasure to serve you, madam.” Ivy gave a mock knightly salute and reappeared before her.

"Look what you've done!" Hermione looked like a lioness.

“No, I need to correct you. This is the ‘good deed’ you did.” Ivy took the elemental orb that had lost its magic from her hand and corrected her with a smile, “The professors will be here soon. Quickly think about how to face them.”

"This is against school rules!" Hermione persisted, but Ivy had already disappeared once again.

“Well, Miss Granger!” It was Professor McGonagall’s voice. Hermione had never seen her so angry. Her voice was icy as it came from her pale lips. “You actually know that this is against school rules!”

Chapter 45 A Devastated Corridor

The professors filed in from the stairwell, with Professor McGonagall leading the way, followed by Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell.

Hermione felt a surge of tension, because she had never faced so many professors alone before, let alone an angry Professor McGonagall.

I was originally Professor McGonagall's favorite student, but it's all Ivy's fault for insisting on finding some Halloween surprise!

Hermione thought resentfully.

Wait, speaking of Halloween surprises... Professor Quirrell! Could it be that the mountain-sized monster he just put in the castle? But why would he do that?

Once a person has a target of suspicion, they can always connect various clues. Hermione immediately recalled the scene when the professors entered this corridor from the stairs earlier—they came from different directions; Snape and Quirrell came downstairs, while Professor McGonagall came upstairs.

Hermione knew what was upstairs—the Cerberus and what it guarded. Unlike Ron, who only knew how to boast about how brave he was, she knew very well that there was a trapdoor under the Cerberus's feet, so Professor Dumbledore must have put it there to guard something.

That being the case...

Hermione made the boldest decision of her life! She was going to deceive three professors with a single lie!

I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall.

Hermione silently apologized to Professor McGonagall in her heart, then quickly glanced at her pale lips.

"I..." The acrid smell in the air made Hermione nauseous, and she couldn't help but miss the bubbles Ivy had just put on her head. "I just wanted to wander around the castle while everyone was having the party... I didn't expect there to be such a huge monster roaming around the castle..."

Oh no! This is absolutely terrible!

As soon as the lie left her lips, Hermione couldn't help but comment to herself, "Why would I skip the banquet in the Great Hall and just wander around Hogwarts by myself? It's amazing that I could come up with such a lame lie. I doubt any professor could be fooled."

Hermione prayed for her lie, then turned and met Snape's dark eyes, which were gleaming with suspicion.

“Miss Granger.” Hermione turned to look at Professor McGonagall, whose lips had regained some color. “I know you’re a capable child, but promise me, next time you’d better stay with the others.”

"I promise!" Hermione hadn't expected to get away with it so easily, and quickly answered Professor McGonagall as if she would become suspicious if she waited any longer.

“There’s something I don’t understand,” Professor McGonagall said, her eyes gleaming with a questioning look behind her glasses. “How did you manage to paint a giant over twelve feet tall… um… on the wall?”