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"Hermione!" they said together. |
It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? |
Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, |
fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside. |
Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if |
she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the |
sinks off the walls as it went. |
"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he |
threw it as hard as he could against the wall. |
The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking |
stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw |
Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it |
went. |
"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he |
threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe |
hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning |
its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it. |
"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward |
the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, |
her mouth open with terror. |
The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It |
roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to |
escape. |
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He |
took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the |
troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, |
but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its |
nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped -- it |
had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils. |
Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry |
clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him |
off or catch him a terrible blow with the club. |
Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand -- |
not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell |
that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!" |
The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into |
the air, turned slowly over -- and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto |
its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its |
face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble. |
Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was |
standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. |
It was Hermione who spoke first. |
"Is it -- dead?" |
I don't think so," said Harry, I think it's just been knocked out." |
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered |
in what looked like lumpy gray glue. |
"Urgh -- troll boogers." |
He wiped it on the troll's trousers. |
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. |
They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, |
someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A |
moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, |
closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell |
took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly |
down on a toilet, clutching his heart. |
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and |
Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. |
Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's |
mind. |
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with |
cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with |
his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in |
your dormitory?" |
Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He |
wished Ron would put his wand down. |
Then a small voice came out of the shadows. |
"Please, Professor McGonagall -- they were looking for me." |
"Miss Granger!" |
Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. |
I went looking for the troll because I -- I thought I could deal with it |
on my own -- you know, because I've read all about them." |
Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a |
teacher? "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand |
up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have |
time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they |
arrived." |
Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. |
"Well -- in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the |
three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of |
tackling a mountain troll on your own?" |
Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last |
person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending |
she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started |
handing out sweets. |
"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said |
Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt |
at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing |
the feast in their houses." |
Hermione left. |
Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron. |
"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have |
taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five |
points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." |
They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had |
climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the |
troll, quite apart from anything else. |
"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled. |
"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's." |
"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind |
you, we did save her." |
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