Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

“Ron!” He grabbed his friend’s arm and asked, “Hasn’t Hermione come back yet?”

Ron, who was looking forward to a hearty meal, didn't pay much attention: "It seems so—what's wrong?"

“I just saw Grey and the others go out—were they going to find Hermione?” Harry said.

“Maybe, Granger has a good relationship with them. Anyway, they’ve gone to look for them, so don’t worry about it,” Ron said nonchalantly.

He was thoroughly fed up with Hermione's lectures—although he felt a little guilty when he saw the girl's tears, that guilt had long since disappeared after so much time had passed. Instead, the disgust he felt from Hermione's condescending "instructions" was much deeper.

“But—” Harry hesitated, “They are all Ravenclaws, but Hermione, like us, is a Gryffindor!”

A bat, controlled by Fred's wand, landed on Ron's head amidst a burst of laughter. Ron, busy shooing the bat away, didn't notice what Harry said.

Harry hesitated for a moment, but finally left his seat before the dinner began and ran out of the Great Hall. Dumbledore and Snape turned to watch him leave almost simultaneously.

Chapter 29 Troll

In the girls' restroom, Hermione was immersed in sadness when she heard two soft knocks on the stall door.

Hermione, is that you?

"Who are you?" Hermione asked, her voice choked with emotion. "Are you here to mock me too?"

“I am Padma Pettier,” Padma said gently. “The Halloween dinner should have already started, Hermione. Wade and Michael are waiting for you outside—they are worried about you.”

"You all go to the banquet, don't worry about me! Let me be by myself for a while," Hermione said stubbornly, wiping away her growing tears.

She had cried for so long that all her tears had already been shed, and she was only hiding here because she was heartbroken and didn't want to face other people's stares. But now, hearing her friend's concern and being comforted by gentle words, her tears suddenly welled up again.

Padma placed her hand on the cubicle door and said softly, "Hermione, I know what nonsense Weasley said. But I don't understand why you're upset about an unfair evaluation from a stupid boy, while ignoring your friends who truly care about you? Everyone says you're the smartest witch in the whole year. Can't you tell what's really important?"

Hermione stopped sobbing and remained silent for a long time.

“Let me tell you a secret—people who speak ill of you behind your back are often driven by insecurity and jealousy. If you're smarter, better, and superior to others in every way, they'll try to hurt you by talking badly. If you're truly heartbroken and push away your friends, then the bad guys succeed,” Padma said. “The best way is to ignore those who slander you. Shine your light and don't pay attention to the shadows in the corner—if that's not enough, punch them in the face! After all, you are the Lion of Gryffindor, aren't you?”

"squeak--"

A moment later, the door to the cubicle was pushed open.

Hermione walked out with red eyes and a sob in her voice: "I'm not the smartest witch—Padma, you're the really smart one."

Padma smiled and gave her a hug.

……

Wade and Michael had been waiting in the hallway for quite some time when they finally saw the two girls emerge from the bathroom. They had overheard Padma's words to Hermione, but neither of them mentioned them.

Michael opened his arms and joked with a grin, "Want me to give you a warm hug, Hermione?"

The brown-haired girl wiped her eyes, hugged Michael with a force that seemed to break his ribs, released him while he was stunned, and then turned around and hugged Wade tightly again.

“Thank you—I’m sorry,” Hermione said softly.

Wade casually ruffled her hair without saying anything.

“No need for apologies, but I can’t wait to enjoy my Halloween feast. I hope they haven’t finished their desserts yet!” Michael said, rubbing his stomach. “Otherwise, we’ll just have to sneak into the kitchen and steal some food.”

Padma asked curiously, "Where is the kitchen at Hogwarts? I've never seen it before."

Michael immediately perked up: "The kitchen is very secluded; if it weren't for Theo and the others—"

Vader paused, blocking the others with one hand, while his other hand swiftly drew his wand.

"—What's wrong?" Michael paused, then asked in a low voice.

Wade asked, "Didn't you hear anything?"

Michael didn't answer, because they had all seen it—a huge, grayish-green hand gripped the wall at the corner, and a wheezing sound came from somewhere unseen.

Everyone's faces turned pale instantly, and Padma groaned, "Merlin—what a monster—"

A colossal creature emerged from around the corner.

It was a full twelve feet tall, its head almost touching the ceiling, and it looked to weigh at least two tons. Its skin was as disgusting as a toad's. It had a massive body, a fat belly, and a short neck topped with a bald head with hardly any hair. The creature reeked of a nauseating stench, and its long arms hung almost to its knees, carrying a tree trunk-like stick in its hand.

“Impossible, the castle—how could there be a giant in the castle?” Padma’s face turned pale, her legs went weak, and Hermione was the only one supporting her.

The giant lowered its head and saw the group. A cruel excitement gleamed in its small eyes. As it lifted its heavy legs, it strode toward the group, raising the wooden stick in its hand.

Hermione's hands trembled uncontrollably as she pointed her wand at the troll, unsure of what spell to use.

Michael repeatedly unleashed spells: "Petrify them all! Petrify them all!"

He hadn't mastered the spell yet; its effect on the troll was like raindrops hitting rhinoceros hide—utterly ineffective. Vader raised his wand, his mind racing through all the spells he knew.

He knew many spells, but the troll had extremely high "magic resistance" and a strong body. Even spells from adult wizards were difficult to use against it. It was a creature that, even without a brain or much magic, was still at the XXXX level of danger, on par with the Thunderbird and the Sphinx.

Although Wade felt there was something wrong with the rating system when he first saw "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," he still felt a suffocating sense of oppression when actually facing monsters that were taller than houses.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a bucket smashed down on the troll's head. Harry appeared out of nowhere and yelled at them, "What are you standing there for? Run!"

Michael snapped out of his daze, turned, grabbed the two girls, and ran. Wade, however, stepped forward, pointed his wand, and shouted: "Flock of birds!"

A large flock of chirping birds flew out from the tip of the wand and landed on the troll's face. The simple-minded troll was immediately attracted, and he grunted as he clumsily shooed the birds away with his fan-like hands.

Seeing that it worked, Michael and the others also shouted, "Flocks of birds!"

But their spells were ineffective; the tips of their wands merely sparked briefly, attracting the troll's attention.

Vader released a dozen or so small birds that surrounded the giant. The behemoth roared and swung its terrifying bellows, smashing the surrounding decorations to pieces with its wooden club, but it was powerless against the agile birds. However, as time went on, the number of birds was rapidly decreasing.

Michael shouted, "This spell will only hold him off for ten seconds at most!"

Vader swung his wand forcefully: "Slide flat!"

The floor beneath the giant's feet suddenly became extremely slippery. Caught off guard, it fell heavily to the ground, its massive body slamming into the earth. The entire floor seemed to tremble, and the wooden stick in its hand flew out of its hand.

Hermione, who looked like she might faint at any moment, mustered her courage, stretched out her wand and shouted, "Yugardim Leviosa!"

The stick flew high into the air and then fell, slamming into the troll's forehead with a thud. The troll shook its head, struggling and roaring as it tried to get up. Hermione gritted her teeth and manipulated the stick to strike a second, a third, a fourth time…

The troll finally fainted from happiness.

Hermione stopped, panting, and turned around to see the group of people looking at her with shock and awe.

"What's wrong?" The girl blushed slightly, but she pretended to be nonchalant and looked at Padma, saying, "Well, you're right—it does feel good to punch it."

Padma stared in disbelief, speechless—this, this is what I taught?

She was a little afraid to look Wade and Michael in the eye.

"Harry—a troll! A troll has broken into the castle—get back to the dorms! A troll—"

Ron rushed over yelling, then his voice abruptly stopped. He stared at the scene before him, gasped, and asked blankly, "What happened?"

Chapter 30 The Professors

Ron clutched his face and screamed, "You killed a troll?!"

Harry glanced at everyone, and seeing that no one seemed inclined to pay attention to Ron, he said, "No, it was Hermione who knocked out the troll." He paused, then unconsciously added, "With the Levitation Charm."

The reason for the conflict between the two in the Charms class was that Hermione tried to teach Ron how to properly use the Levitation Charm, but her attitude, which implied "instruction," made Ron even more dissatisfied.

"—Hermione?" Ron was indeed taken aback, muttering, "This—how is this possible? That's...that's a troll!"

Hermione gave a loud "humph," gripping her wand with a mixture of excitement and terror as she stared at the motionless figure on the ground, as if something within her bloodline had awakened.

Padma peeked out from behind Vader and whispered, "Is the troll dead?"

“No.” Wade looked at the troll’s slightly heaving chest and said, “He was just knocked unconscious.”

“Oh—that’s alright.” Padma patted her chest.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps sounded—Professor McGonagall rushed forward first, her face deathly pale; closely following her was Professor Snape, his black robes billowing behind him; then came Professor Flitwick, his small frame running swiftly, but he still couldn't catch up with the two ahead; finally, Professor Quirrell, upon seeing the troll's large, calloused feet, clutched his chest and sobbed, as if he were about to faint.

Snape glanced quickly at Harry, who was standing there dumbfounded, then bent down to examine the troll. Professor Flitwick said in his characteristically high-pitched, shrill voice, "Oh, Merlin! Children, are you all alright?"

“We’re fine, Professor,” Michael said excitedly, “except for almost being vomited by the troll’s stench.”

Professor Flitwick patted his arm approvingly and exclaimed, "Well done! First year—you defeated a giant! I bet not many people could do that! How did you manage to defeat this big guy?"

"Haha, this is all thanks to everyone." Michael tried to pull his grin back, speaking with a mixture of humility and seriousness: "Potter rushed out and attracted its attention—"

Professor Snape immediately glared at Harry with a piercing look, and Harry quickly lowered his head, wishing that Michael had never mentioned him. Ron, standing beside him, looked at him with envy.

“We all swarmed the birds to distract it, and then Vader used a spell—”

Michael forgot what it was and turned to look at Wade.

“The slide is flat,” Wade said.

“Yes—the slide was flat, which caused the troll to fall.” Michael continued, “In the end, Hermione knocked it unconscious with a levitation charm.”

Professor Flitwick clapped and exclaimed, "Brilliant teamwork! Absolutely amazing! You've achieved incredible results with simple spells. I'd give each of you five points!"

"Felius!"

Professor McGonagall shouted, her unprecedentedly stern tone causing Professor Flitwick, who had been dancing with glee, to flinch and silently shut his mouth, stepping aside.

The green-robed witch swept her cold gaze over everyone, and every student who met her eyes involuntarily lowered their head, including Wade.

“Trolls are extremely dangerous creatures; countless adult wizards have been killed by them! You should have run away the moment you encountered it and gone to find the professor to deal with it! You were lucky this time that you weren't killed by it! —Miss Granger!”