Chapter 11: The Frozen Ugly Monster
Draco Malfoy felt cold, hungry, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead as he slowly walked down the Astronomy Tower.
He had spent too much time with the Bloody Baron and had paced the tower excitedly for a long time, and now he felt a little exhausted.
The body of an 11-year-old child is so troublesome. You can never hold it to the standards of a 17-year-old boy, but you must respect the fact that it has limited physical strength.
Draco sighed. He planned to hurry back to the Great Hall where the Halloween dinner was being held, quietly join the Slytherin table filled with roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, steak, roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, green apples, etc., and eat something to fill himself up as soon as possible.
However, a sudden noise stopped him in his tracks. As he passed an empty corridor on the second floor, he faintly heard someone crying. The sound was sobbing and mournful, as if it came from the women's bathroom.
Draco frowned. A mature Malfoy wouldn't meddle in other people's affairs; he preferred to stay out of their own way. Besides, it was clearly the women's bathroom. He didn't think he was in any position to rashly go in and help anyone.
But his feet were strangely immobile. The sobbing sent a panic surging through his stomach, causing him to shudder as if the cold, ghostly form of the Bloody Baron had passed through him.
A strange feeling suddenly came over him - if he left now, he might regret it.
He couldn't understand his behavior at the moment. Perhaps it was because he had cried in the bathroom in his past life, and that hadn't been pleasant; also, he had a feeling that he had forgotten something tonight.
Just as he stopped in the corridor and hesitated to move forward, a foul smell filled the air from the corridor on the left, followed by a low muttering and the dull sound of huge feet dragging on the ground.
Troll! Draco's face turned pale and he scratched his platinum hair in annoyance.
Merlin's beard, how could he have forgotten that? He must have been too eager to chat with the ghosts!
He suddenly remembered that his first-year Halloween party had ended abruptly in his previous life—precisely because Quirrell had let the troll in the dungeon escape.
Let's go quickly, before the troll turns around, Draco said to himself. However, the crying in the bathroom had not stopped, and the sad and panicky meaning contained in it made him more and more anxious and uneasy.
Draco never claimed to be a "saint", that was Potter's job. Looking at his current life, he still had no interest in "being a hero" - he didn't have such a high level of consciousness, he just wanted to save his life.
But at this moment, he couldn't sit idly by.
Judging from the tender bird-like tone, the person crying is not very old, obviously an innocent child.
The situation with the giant monster approaching was too dangerous for a crying little girl.
In his previous life, Draco had seen too much pain and suffering of life and death, and was already tired of seeing people get hurt or even die.
No matter who it was, at least they shouldn't have to suffer something more desperate in the bathroom, crying inconsolably - one Myrtle was enough for Hogwarts to endure - and they shouldn't have been injured or even died for such a ridiculous reason as a troll.
He made up his mind, threw away the little worry in his heart, and prepared to be regarded as a "shameless person" or a "frivolous playboy". He hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed into the girls' bathroom.
A small, familiar figure was standing in front of the bathroom mirror.
"Damn it! How could it be her?" Draco's heart suddenly began to beat wildly.
Hermione's eyes were red and swollen, and she was about to turn on the faucet to wash her face when she heard the sound and slowly turned around.
"What are you doing..." She was extremely surprised and spoke with a heavy nasal voice.
Without caring about why the little girl was crying here, the usually calm Draco lost his dignity in front of others for the first time in his life. He rushed forward, not caring about anything.
He grabbed the surprised Hermione's hand and ran out.
"There's no time to explain. Come with me." He said hurriedly, dragging her as she stumbled, and rushed out of the women's bathroom in a panic.
"Wait—" Hermione shouted in surprise, and her body was suddenly pulled out of the door by him.
The boy who had barged into the women's restroom was inexplicably holding her hand as he ran. His hand was cold, yet strong, revealing an unusual impulsiveness and dominance.
What does he want to do? She wondered confusedly.
The situation was already critical. In the reflection of the candlelight in the alcove, Draco saw that the troll was already swaying back and forth in the corner of the wall.
Before it turned around, he hurriedly took the confused girl and rushed to the corridor at the other corner.
"Stop!" Not long after turning the corner, Hermione shook off his hand, feeling panicked and confused by his untimely intrusion and rough pull.
She choked and said angrily, "You...what are you doing? Why did you pull me out? How could you break into the women's bathroom without permission?"
Hermione was a little annoyed.
She had never expected that Draco, a boy, would go to the girls' room at will. This was so rude! Moreover, he didn't even ask her opinion and dragged her away for no reason. He had absolutely no respect for others!
She hasn't gotten over his repeated violations of the rules yet!
She was still furious about him harassing her with feathers today while practicing the levitation spell!
What's the game now?
This level of disobedience to the rules is absolutely unforgivable!
Boys all seem to be the same, never respecting anyone, Hermione thought wearily. She turned and walked away, determined not to bother with these annoying boys anymore.
"Keep your voice down!" Draco quickly stopped Hermione, who was about to turn back to the ladies' room, and covered her mouth with his hand. He said, "Look behind you!"
Hermione was already filled with anger, but he actually covered her mouth with his hand when they had a disagreement!
Moreover, he pressed her shoulders from behind, which was extremely impolite, presumptuous, and even frivolous!
But she came to her senses and turned around to find that his face was solemn, and his light gray eyes were clear and transparent. It didn't seem like he had any bad intentions or was playing a joke on her.
So she assessed the situation, opened her eyes wide, and nodded to him gently, indicating that she would not make a sound. Draco then let her go, motioned her, and together they slowly stretched their heads over the wall and peeked at the door of the women's bathroom.
In the moonlight, the twelve-foot-tall troll stretched his stupid head and looked into the ladies' room.
Everything about it perfectly embodies what "disgusting" means: its skin is as gray as granite, its body is huge and clumsy, with a small, bare, coconut-like head, short legs like tree stumps, and large, flat feet...
What cannot be ignored is that it is holding a heavy, thick wooden stick in its hand and dragging it along the ground, making the scene even more terrifying.
Hermione automatically grabbed Draco's hand and began to tremble.
Draco looked back at her and found that her face was pale and the corners of her eyes were a little red, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Hermione Granger, this cunning and willful girl, looked better when she was arrogant and complacent. He gently shook her hand back and felt that her little hand was cold.
The troll finally made a decision - using its sesame-sized brain - and it wiggled its long ears, smiled maliciously, and slowly went into the women's bathroom.
Hermione's breath stopped, and she trembled uncontrollably in the cold wind like a candle burning in a niche.
"Oh my god..." she whispered.
She realized that she had completely wronged the boy next to her. If he hadn't pulled her out of the ladies' room in advance, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Just imagine, she was helpless and didn't even have a wand, facing this extremely dangerous and disgusting thing.
"Oh my god, Draco..." Hermione turned as pale as the Hogwarts ghosts. "Thank you."
"Not angry anymore?" Draco pursed his lips and made a face at her. Hermione was extremely embarrassed and smiled awkwardly at him.
Only then did she realize with surprise that she could smile again. Half an hour ago, she had thought that she would never smile again in Hogwarts.
But now, strangely enough, the sadness in her heart was dispelled by the giant's shock and fright, coupled with Draco's interference.
A feeling of relief, mixed with a strong sense of fear, as well as a faint sense of goodwill and joy, quietly spread in the corner of this dark corridor.
Draco noticed something else. Hermione's hands were colder than his own, who had spent the entire night wandering the Astronomy Tower.
And she continued to tremble.
Like a rabbit that couldn't find a burrow in the snow, her eyes were red and the moonlight made her little face pale.
Merlin, her smile was uglier than crying. It didn't bring much joy, nor did it satisfy Draco's bad taste. Instead, it aroused the little pity that remained in his heart.
The self-proclaimed upright Gryffindor? The fearless Hermione Granger? No, she's just a careless little daredevil!
Either you get swallowed by the stairs, or you freeze yourself into ice, or you are too ambitious and want to become a meal for the troll!
Isn't she the smartest? Why does she always find dangers that are beyond the reach of ordinary people?
She was always alone, helpless, so who could ignore her? He was secretly angry, feeling his heart being tightened by some invisible chain.
However, she looked at him timidly, holding his hand tightly, as if afraid he would run away. It seemed that he was not the unscrupulous Slytherin she looked down upon, but someone she could trust. Her eyes full of attachment made him feel uncomfortable.
Draco had no idea what to do with her.
This little ice cube that always makes me angry, but now looks so pitiful! He thought angrily, but he didn't let go of his hand.
They held each other's hands with their ice-cold hands, staring at the direction of the women's restroom for a few seconds, until he had to ask himself, two people with such cold hands, how long would it take for them to warm up?
Sighing, he released her. As she stared at him in confusion, he pulled an empty jam jar from his robe pocket and handed it to her. He used his wand to conjure a bright blue flame and placed it inside. "Take it."
She seemed to like keeping warm this way, Draco thought silently, considering his memories of his previous life.
Only then did Hermione realize that she had been holding onto his hand. Embarrassed, she covered the warm jar with both hands, lowered her head to look at the wonderful blue flame, and whispered "thank you" again.
"Pleasure," he said, his lips finally relaxing a little, no longer tense.
Draco glanced towards the bathroom again. He wanted to get Hermione away from this dangerous place as soon as possible - a place infested with trolls was not one of the top ten tourist attractions in the minds of wizards.
But at that moment he noticed two small figures sidling towards the open bathroom door. One of them took a big leap, pulled the key out of the door, slammed the door shut, and locked it tightly.
If his eyes weren't blurring, these were Potter and Weasley, two unremarkable wizarding geniuses who had locked up the troll.
Bravo! If he wasn't afraid of being discovered, he would have wanted to whistle at them right now.
Hermione, who was holding the jar, also saw this scene. She snuggled up to him, her fluffy and messy hair sticking out from his side, and whispered, "Why are they here too?"
However, before he could answer her, Drake was stunned to find that Potter and Weasley, who had already run away, ran back along the corridor, returned dazed, and reopened the door of the girls' bathroom.
Merlin, is tonight Halloween or Gryffindor Daredevil Night?
Are all the daredevils in Gryffindor lining up to die?
Draco's face turned green.
Then, the two reckless idiots rushed into the ladies' room, yelling, "Hermione! Are you in there?"
"Oh my God!" Hermione screamed in shock. She turned her head to look at him, and her cheeks, which had regained some of their pink color, turned pale again, and her eyes were filled with fear again. "Draco, I think they're coming for me! I have to go save them!"
She was trembling and wanted to rush towards the women's bathroom, but he grabbed her wrist.
"How to save him? Do you have your wand? How do you plan to defeat the troll?" Draco frowned and asked her three questions in a row.
For an unarmed first-year student to face a giant monster is reckless, irrational, and extremely dangerous.
There was no surer way to die—she was doomed.
"I don't have my wand with me, and I don't know how to defeat the trolls, but I can't leave them alone. They came back for me!" The little daredevil turned around and yelled at him excitedly, tears welling up in his eyes, ready to burst out at any moment.
"Let me go! I want to go find them!" Her eyes began to turn red again, like a rabbit ready to bite someone, and her expression was extremely stubborn.
Merlin! Is there anyone more ungrateful than her? Draco felt a rage ignite in his heart.
However, her tears... He couldn't bear to see Miss Know-It-All's tears.
It's so ugly, not good-looking at all.
"Okay, I'll go with you." Draco rolled his eyes and wanted to slap himself before he finished speaking.
"Stupid! What are you doing? Why did you join the army of daredevils?" Draco cursed himself inwardly, but his feet followed the impulsive little crybaby - Hermione Granger - and ran towards the girls' bathroom.
"Run, Ron, run!" As they approached the door, they heard Potter shouting from the bathroom.
When they entered the room, the unexpectedly thrilling scene made Draco feel like he was stung by a Billywig bug, frightened to death:
Weasley's little body was pressed against the wall, his wand in his hand trembling, as if he were frightened; while Potter, bravely but foolishly, sat on the troll, clinging to its ugly neck.
Potter's wand appeared where it was least expected - like a sticky twig, lodged awkwardly in the troll's nostril.
A wizard would abandon his wand and choose close combat? Draco was shocked.
Why did Potter think he could fight a giant monster with his own strength?
Draco had never seen such brainless behavior in his two lifetimes!
Is this the intelligence of someone who can defeat the Dark Lord?! Merlin was truly blind. Draco's pupils trembled, and he wailed inwardly.
At this moment, the troll roared in pain, waved the wooden club in his hand, and twisted his body wildly; it seemed that at any time it could throw off the little guy on its body who was trying to shake the tree with an ant, and give him a fatal blow, or first hit Ron who was not far away from it with the wooden club.
"Save them, Draco, please," Hermione pleaded, tugging at his sleeve anxiously.
She hated herself for not having her wand with her at all times. This was her biggest mistake of the day. She could only beg him. For some reason, she felt that Draco would find a way.
In fact, even with seven more years of learning experience, Draco was still not sure about "confronting the troll head-on".
But the situation was already very critical at the moment. The troll heard the noise at the door and turned back in confusion. The danger would soon affect him and the little girl beside him.
"Immobulus!" In a flash, Draco used the first spell that came to his mind.
That was the Flame-Freezing Charm Hermione used to deal with the Cornish goblins in Defense Against the Dark Arts class in her previous life.
Fortunately, it worked, and the giant monster with a surprised look on his face was frozen in place for an instant.
"Brilliant!" Weasley's exclamation came from the wall.
"Go!" Draco said to them in a stern voice, without any expression of relief. He continued to point his wand at the troll, in case it suddenly woke up and attacked them.
Being able to freeze it was just luck! Trolls have thick skin and flesh, and are a species with high resistance to magic. Wizards have always been wary of such species. He didn't know how long his freezing spell would last.
Upon hearing this, Potter quickly took the disgusting wand out of the troll's nostrils, rubbed off the sticky stuff on it, and climbed down from it; Weasley and Hermione, who had come to their senses, hurriedly helped him to prevent him from stepping on empty air and falling down.
The troll fluttered his eyelids, as if waking up. There seemed to be faint voices coming from the other end of the corridor. Perhaps the professors had found their way here.
This is not a good thing.
Once the professors found out that a few ignorant freshmen were facing the monster instead of returning to their dormitories, point deductions and punishments were inevitable.
Draco didn't want to bring shame to the academy or deduct any unnecessary points.
"Go! Hide! Don't let anyone find you!" Draco hurriedly called out to them and hid in a nearby classroom.
A moment after they entered, they heard loud footsteps and Professor McGonagall exclaimed, "Oh, Severus, it's here." The troll seemed to have fully awakened and began to roar again.
Here, four first-year students hid behind the classroom door. They pressed their ears against the door, trying to catch any noise coming from outside. At the same time, they dared not breathe, for fear that the professors would discover their presence.
Judging from the sound, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape seemed to have cast several spells together. Then, the troll fell to the ground with a dull thud.
After a moment, Professor Quirrell's voice came up, stammering that he would be in charge.
Time passed minute by minute, and when the freshmen sat on the ground behind the door, yawning, silence returned outside the door.
Hermione still held the jar.
She was leaning against the door exhausted, unable to resist a slight doze. Gradually, her thick-haired head slid down the door, and Draco caught it with his quick eyes and hands, and placed it on his shoulder.
She was unaware of it all. The blue flame, tirelessly beating within the jar in her hand, saw it all.
On the other side, Potter and Weasley had numb expressions and showed no reaction to the scene. They leaned their heads against each other and gasped for breath, still immersed in the terrifying scene of facing the troll.
After a while, they came back to their senses, looked at each other quietly, whispered a few words, and finally spoke tentatively. They whispered, "Thank you."
Draco still listened attentively to the noise outside. He whispered to them, "Don't be so reckless again. Not everyone will save you every time."
These two guys who were trying to stop a chariot with their bare hands were extremely lucky not to have been torn into pieces or crushed into a pulp by the giant monster.
"Also, the wand is the life of a wizard, you must take good care of it." Draco said seriously, and saw Potter and Weasley nodded quietly.
At this moment, he felt a lightness on his shoulder - Hermione suddenly woke up. She raised her face and rubbed her eyes sleepily with the back of her hand. Her eyes were still a little swollen.
He turned his head and smiled at her unconsciously - she smiled back at him with hazy eyes - he looked at Potter again, his face regaining its solemnity, "You must always carry your wand with you. It is used to cast spells, not as a close combat weapon. If it breaks, you can never get it back together again."
Potter looked a little embarrassed, as if he had just remembered that the wand could be broken.
Draco couldn't help but be worried about this. Potter, this kid, his attitude towards the wand was too frivolous. He seemed to have not figured out what the destined wand meant to a wizard.
That is a unique existence in the world.
However, Draco could only give a brief lecture. He couldn't lecture the Potters too much. After all, they were only 11 years old. What kind of profound principles could you expect them to understand?
Look, things have changed! Now, it's not him who's being naive, it's Potter and the others. Draco sighed, feeling that he was being overly concerned about them, knowing that he had his own problems and couldn't even take care of himself.
He straightened his face and instructed them, "By the way, I hope you can keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone that I saved you, or that I was here. This is the greatest gratitude you can give me."
He didn't want anyone to notice his wanderings. Regarding the secret investigation of the Dark Lord, if he rashly surfaced without a clear understanding of the situation, it would only lead to disaster; hiding underwater would be safer.
The three Potters looked at each other in confusion, not understanding his intentions. But in the end, they were filled with gratitude to their savior and nodded in agreement.
After this incident, Harry, Ron and Hermione have become true friends.
Brave and loyal Gryffindors, willing to face the horrors of existence for each other, even at the risk of their lives, how can you say there is no friendship?
They also had a new understanding of Draco. Although Draco was a Slytherin, when he went through something with you and saved your life, it was impossible not to have a good impression between you.
Facing a twelve-foot troll together was just such a thing.