As Draco Malfoy slowly descended the Astronomy Tower, he felt cold and hungry, and his legs felt like they were made of lead.
He had spent considerable time with the Bloody Baron and had paced excitedly in the tower for a long while, and now he was somewhat exhausted.
The body of an eleven year old is so distressing. One can never judge it by the standards of a seventeen year old, but must respect the fact that its physical strength is limited.
Draco sighed. He planned to hurry back to the Great Hall where the Halloween feast was being held, and quietly join the Slytherin table laden with roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, steaks, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and toffee apples, so he could eat something to fill his stomach as soon as possible.
However, a sudden noise stopped him in his tracks. As he passed through an empty side corridor on the second floor, he vaguely heard someone crying. The sound was sobbing and mournful, as though it came from the girls' toilets.
Draco frowned. A mature Malfoy should not meddle in other people's business. I prefer to mind my own affairs. Besides, it is clearly the girls' toilets. I do not think I have any right to go in and help anyone.
But his feet would not budge. The crying sent a wave of panic through his stomach, making him shudder as though the cold, ghostly body of the Bloody Baron had passed right through him.
A strange feeling suddenly washed over him. If I leave now, I might regret it.
He could not understand his own behavior at that moment. Perhaps it was because he had wept in the bathroom in his past life, and that feeling had not been pleasant. Additionally, he felt that he had forgotten something tonight.
Just as he stopped in the corridor, hesitating whether to move forward, a stench wafted from the left side of the corridor, followed by a low grunting sound and the dull thud of huge feet dragging on the ground.
"Troll!" Draco's face turned pale, and he raked his platinum blond hair in annoyance.
Merlin's beard, how could I forget that? I must have been too engrossed in talking to the ghosts!
He suddenly remembered that the Halloween feast in his first year had ended abruptly in his previous life, precisely because Quirrell had let the troll from the dungeons escape.
Hurry up and leave before the troll turns around, Draco told himself. However, the crying from the toilets had not stopped, and the mournful, anxious tone it carried grew increasingly unsettling.
Draco never called himself a saint. That was Potter's role. Looking back on his life, he still had no interest in being a hero. He did not have that kind of awareness. He merely wanted to survive.
But now, he could no longer sit idly by.
Judging from the tender, youthful tone of the crying, the owner of the voice was young, clearly an innocent child.
The approaching giant was too dangerous for a crying little girl.
In his previous life, Draco had witnessed too much suffering and death, and was long tired of the spectacle of people getting hurt or even dying.
No one should encounter anything more desperate in the bathroom, amidst heartbreaking weeping. Moaning Myrtle alone is enough for Hogwarts to handle. And certainly no one should be injured or even killed because of such a ridiculous reason as a troll.
He made up his mind, abandoned his worries, and prepared himself to be regarded as a shameless scoundrel or a frivolous troublemaker. He hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed into the girls' toilets.
A small, familiar figure was standing in front of the mirror in the toilets.
Blast it! How could it be her? Draco's heart started pounding wildly.
Hermione's eyes were red and swollen, and she was about to turn on the tap to wash her face when she heard the sound and slowly turned around.
"How could you..." she said in surprise, her voice thick with congestion.
Without even considering why the little girl was crying, Draco, who was usually calm, lost his composure in front of others for the first time in his life. He rushed forward, no longer caring about anything else.
He grabbed Hermione's hand, who was utterly astonished, and ran outside.
"There is no time to explain. Come with me now," he said hurriedly, grabbing her as she stumbled along, and rushed out of the girls' toilets.
"Wait..." Hermione exclaimed in surprise as he suddenly pulled her out the door.
The boy who barged into the girls' toilets is inexplicably grabbing my hand and running. His hand is icy cold, but surprisingly strong, revealing an impulsiveness and dominance unlike anything he has ever shown before.
What is he trying to do? she wondered, confused.
The situation was becoming increasingly critical. In the reflection of the candlelight in the alcove, Draco spotted the troll's figure swaying back and forth around the corner.
Before it could turn around, he hurriedly grabbed the bewildered girl and rushed toward the corridor around the other corner.
"Stop!" Not long after turning the corner, Hermione shook off his hand, flustered and confused by his untimely intrusion and rough handling.
She choked back tears and said angrily, "What... what are you doing? Why did you pull me out? And how could you trespass into the girls' toilets?"
Hermione was rather annoyed.
She could not believe that Draco, a boy, would simply enter the girls' toilets so casually. It was incredibly rude! And he had not even asked her opinion before dragging her off like that. It was utterly disrespectful!
She was still angry about his repeated rule breaking!
She was still furious when he bothered her feather with his feather while she was practicing the Levitation Charm today!
What sort of trick was he playing now?
This level of rule breaking was absolutely unforgivable!
The boys all seem to be the same, never showing any respect, Hermione thought wearily. She turned and walked away, deciding never to deal with these annoying boys again.
"Keep your voice down!" Draco quickly stopped Hermione, who was trying to return to the girls' toilets, and covered her mouth with his hand. He said, "Look back for yourself!"
I am filled with anger when he suddenly covers my mouth without warning!
Moreover, he grabbed my shoulders from behind, which is extremely rude, presumptuous, and even improper!
But when she came to her senses, she turned her head and found him with a solemn expression. His pale grey eyes were clear and serious, and he did not seem to have any malicious intentions or be joking with her.
So she assessed the situation, widened her eyes, and nodded slightly to him, indicating that she would not make a sound. Draco then released her and gestured for her to join him as they slowly peeked out from behind the wall, peering toward the doorway of the girls' toilets.
Under the moonlight, the twelve foot tall monster stretched out its foolish head and peered into the girls' toilets.
Everything about it perfectly illustrated what disgusting meant: its skin was dull grey like granite, its body was huge and clumsy, with a bald, coconut like head, short legs like tree stumps, and flat, enormous feet...
What could not be ignored was that it was also holding a heavy, thick wooden club, which it dragged along the ground, making the scene particularly terrifying.
Hermione involuntarily grabbed Draco's hand and began to tremble.
Draco glanced back at her and noticed that her face was pale and her eyes were red, which made him feel uneasy.
Hermione Granger, that capricious and willful girl, looks better when she is proud and confident. He gently squeezed her hand back, feeling the coldness of her small hand.
The troll finally made its decision. With its minuscule brain, it wiggled its long ears, grinned maliciously, and slowly lumbered into the girls' toilets.
Hermione's breathing stopped. She trembled uncontrollably in the cold air, like a dying candle flickering in an alcove.
"Oh my goodness..." she whispered.
She realized she had completely wronged the boy beside her. If he had not pulled her from the girls' toilets beforehand, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Imagine, I, completely defenseless and without even a wand, facing this incredibly dangerous and disgusting creature.