Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 48 Red-haired Weasley

To match the Halloween atmosphere, the decorations in the castle were enchanted, and the streetlights and candlesticks were extinguished.

The entire floor was still shrouded in dark clouds, flashing with lightning and slightly exaggerated thunder, like a cheap theater stage.

There is a small passageway on the side of the corridor, and the toilet is at the end of the passageway.

A series of light footsteps sounded, and Loren and the other two ran side by side into the corridor to reach the outside of the toilet.

Ron could be heard sobbing faintly from inside.

Loren breathed a slight sigh of relief; they had caught up, but the troll hadn't arrived yet.

Hermione looked guilty: "Go and call Ron out quickly, let's go back as soon as possible."

Harry pushed open the wooden door to the bathroom, the old pages creaking. A sense of urgency gripped him, and after a few words, he pulled Ron out.

Ron's nose was red, and he was hesitant to look at Loren and Hermione. He felt a pang of guilt; it was all his fault for making his friends come looking for him.

The group nodded, said nothing more, and walked outside.

"roar!!!"

A howl made Loren and his three companions stop in their tracks.

Why am I so unlucky?

Ron felt as if something was choking him, and his breathing became labored.

The sound of thumping footsteps began to echo outside. Just from the sound, one could imagine how enormous the monster must be.

Hermione unconsciously leaned against Loren, clutching his sleeve tightly.

"The troll is in the hallway!" Harry exclaimed, turning pale with fright.

"Go back to the toilet and hide, wait for the troll to go somewhere else through the corridor." Loren groaned inwardly, intending to stall until the professors arrived.

In the midst of the chaos, having a leader to rely on made the others feel a little more at ease. The four of them retreated to the restroom, locked the door, huddled together, and held their breath, afraid to speak.

bang~

boom.

boom!

The troll's dull footsteps grew clearer as it entered the passageway from the corridor.

Ron's forehead began to bead with cold sweat, and Loren could feel Hermione trembling beside him.

The troll is almost at the door!

"Get into the cubicle," Loren commanded in a low voice.

The four of them crept into the innermost stall and peered intently through a crack at the toilet door.

Whoosh!

The wooden door was kicked to pieces like a toy, and a flat, rough, calloused foot appeared in the doorway.

Accompanied by a nauseating stench, Loren and his companions saw a real giant for the first time.

Its skin was dull and gray, like granite. The troll had a massive body, topped with a small, bald head like a coconut, and long arms.

The little wizard was like a toy in its presence.

The oppressive feeling brought by their enormous size made them feel as if their heartbeats were being choked, and that they would die if they were touched. That was what they all thought.

The giant's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, making it look extremely ferocious. It seemed to have a target in mind, walking towards a row of cubicles and swinging the wooden club horizontally in its hand.

"Crouch down, run!"

Loren roared and kicked open the cubicle door, pulling several people out to escape.

An entire row of cubicles was smashed into pieces, with wooden blocks scattered everywhere.

The group stood against the wall, facing the giant monster, about five or six meters apart.

"Roar!!!" The troll stared straight at Harry and roared with its mouth open.

"【Yugadimurleviosa】"

Loren quickly tried to use the levitation spell on the wooden stick in the troll's hand, but the spell had no effect; the stick remained firmly in the troll's grasp.

"【All petrified】"

"【Fragmented】"

Harry and Hermione quickly intervened, but the spell's light struck the troll's thick skin without any effect.

The giant slowly approached the group, and a sense of powerlessness enveloped them, making them feel somewhat desperate.

"Open the gates!" Loren tried his most powerful spell, but it still had no effect.

Remembering Flamel's teachings in the Duel Class, Loren changed his strategy.

"[Burning Flames]" He poured all the strength in his body into this spell.

Crimson flames rose and rolled around the floor. Waves of fire at the edges scorched the troll's skin, forcing it back and halting its advance.

The four of them could feel the heat wave hitting them. Loren gave a weak smile; he had never felt this tired even after casting spells all afternoon.

"Well done—" The group hadn't even had time to celebrate.

The flames quickly subsided and dissipated.

The floors and corridors of Hogwarts have special defensive measures in place, so spells cannot be used to their fullest extent.

"Oh no!" The unfinished praise turned into a desperate cry of despair.

Loren was exhausted, his eyes were unfocused, and his lips were twitching.

What other options are there? What other options are there?

Flamel's teachings flashed through his mind again and again, and he realized with despair that all his techniques were useless.

"【Yugadimurleviosa】"

"【Blazing Flames】"

Hermione's clear voice rang out, inspired by Loren's actions. She cast a Levitation Charm and a Fire Charm in quick succession, causing the surrounding planks to levitate and ignite, encircling the troll and preventing it from getting close.

The fireball floated in the air, the heat wave stirred up convective winds, the little witch's hair flew wildly, her robes fluttered, and the fiery red light reflected on her fair face, making her radiant.

The flames forced the giant to retreat, this time effectively driving it away. The giant was very clumsy, and once it retreated into the corridor, Loren and his companions could escape in another direction.

Several boys watched Hermione's heroic figure as she waved her wand with one hand with admiration.

"Long live Granger!" Ron couldn't help but shout. He relaxed, his hands clenched into fists, trembling slightly.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, he thought to himself.

Loren and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

The two joined in, using the Levitation Charm in conjunction with fire to force the giant outwards.

Flames surrounded the giant, occasionally flickering across it. The giant retreated, growing increasingly impatient, and roared as it exited the toilet.

"roar!"

The giant swung its club at the fireball flying through the air. With a "bang," sparks flew everywhere.

Their hearts skipped a beat. Hermione and Loren used the Levitation Charm to make the fireball hover more nimbly, dodging the club and forcing the troll back.

Clumps of fire rose and hovered, the situation seemingly steadily improving. Pieces of wood flew up one by one, igniting, until the amount of embers on the ground dwindled.

Hermione quickly realized the problem, her voice urgent: "No, we won't have enough blocks at this rate!"

They were still in the middle of the passageway. The wooden blocks would burn in the air and be consumed by being hit by the giant. The remaining number was not enough to sustain them until they reached the upper corridor, and they were still trapped in this passageway.

Despair enveloped the four of them once again. Sweat beaded on their faces and backs, whether from the flames or from fear, it was hard to tell.

No one spoke; Hermione's lips were tightly pressed together as she waved her wand. Now all she could do was pray that the professors arrived as soon as possible.

As the number of floating fireballs decreased, the last few planks flew up, and the sparse flames separated the giant from Loren and his companions.

The giant's retreating steps gradually slowed down.

"roar!!!"

Even though the giant monster had no brains, it sensed that the fireballs were decreasing. It swung its giant club wildly to disperse the fireballs and walked towards the group.

Ron was trembling with fear, so much so that he could barely stand. If he hadn't gone to the toilet, he thought he would have peed himself.

Snot dripped from Ron's red nose. Why? He's a burden, a good-for-nothing, the most useless member of the family. He's already like this, why do I have to suffer like this?

He couldn't do anything about it, yet he had to watch his friend die with him.

He was so scared, so afraid that his friend would die in front of him.

Harry is the savior! How could he die because of me!

"run!"

Ron screamed at the top of his lungs, tears and snot streaming down his face.

He rushed toward the giant, trying to distract it so his friends could escape.

"Come on, you piece of trash!"

The stench emanating from the giant was transformed into a strange, slightly burnt smell by the flames.

Ron was oblivious to everything else; the red-haired Weasley was kicking the troll's feet like a madman, trying to inflict some damage on it.

Punches and kicks struck the troll's thick hide like hammering into a rock, having no effect whatsoever.

Ron was quickly kicked away by the troll, crashing into the wall and falling to the ground.

He curled up in a ball, clutching his stomach and motionless. Ouch, he was in so much pain he couldn't even scream, and bright red blood flowed from his mouth.

Even if you fight with your life on the line, you still can't do anything; you're a useless piece of trash...

(End of this chapter)