"Screech"

  "Screech"

  "Screech"

  The pierg sound was getting closer.

  It was almost at his ears.

  Hoare spun around abruptly. It was a troll!

  The troll looked extremely agitated, filled with rage. Upon seeing Hoare, it dragged its club and charged straight at him.

  The screeg sound came from the club being dragged across the ground.

  Seeing the troll approach, Hoare quickly ducked and dodged behind a nearby pilr.

  Uo find Hoare, the troll lifted its club and smashed it against the ground, as if venting its anger.

  Hoare hid behind the pilr, holding his wand, waiting for the right moment...

  "Henry?"

  Hoare hadn't expected that behind the pilr he was hiding was the girls' bathroom he had been looking for.

  Harry, Ron, and Hermiohe trio, were all there.

  They hadn't seeroll behind them, their view blocked by the pilr.

  Harry looked puzzled at Henry, who was tense and holding his wand.

  Ron suddenly realized and shouted, "Harry! He's trying to kill you!"

  "Idiot Ron!" Hoare couldn't help but curse.

  Ron's voice caught the troll's attention, and only then did the trio see the t figure behind the pilr.

  "Merlin..."

  "Merlin's beard..."

  "My goodness..."

  The trio excimed in unison.

  Hoare, speechless, shouted, "Run!"

  The three finally reacted, quickly turning and running into the girls' bathroom.

  Hoare spun around, pointed his wand at the troll, and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Theurned and rushed into the girls' bathroom.

  One of the troll's hands stiffened and dropped limply.

  Realizing one of its hands couldn't move, the troll became even more furious, r as it charged forward.

  "What do we do, what do we do, what do we do! It's a troll!" Ron was terrified, spinning in circles.

  "Where are the professors!? With such a loud noise, where have the professone?" Hermione anxiously bit her fingers.

  "Henry, what are you doing?" Harry noticed Hoare rummaging through his robe pockets.

  Dumbledore had promised to take him to Diagon Alley to buy a wand on Halloween.

  Hoare had thought a sed-hand wand would suffice at school for the time being, not expeg the current situation.

  His sed-hand wand was very unstable, and the magic it produced was signifitly weakened.

  Hoare had estimated that the troll should have been at least half-petrified by now.

  Sihat wasn't the case, it wasn't wise to tinue using the wand.

  "Looking for something." Hoare rummaged through his robe, remembering he had put something in his pocket.

  That batch of potions was requested by Hagrid from Potions css, meant to blow up boulders.

  Finally! He found it!

  He pulled out a bag and showed it to the trio.

  "We'll use this! It's incredibly destructive, the troll won't stand a ce."

  Hoare spoke fidently, opening the bag and distributing its tents to the trio, carefully instrug, "Aim at the troll before throwing, and don't hurt your teammates."

  Rohe item looked familiar. "What is this?" he asked, shaking the gss bottle in his hand, the potion inside slightly murky.

  The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. The scrat the cap looked like the one from when he and Harry had been fooling around and actally dropped it.

  Hoare looked at the puzzled trio, fshing a bright smile. "The entire first year's failed Potions assigs."

  There were 17 bottles of potions in the bag.

  Each person got three or four bottles.

  The trio, now looking at the gss bottles in their hands, felt a surge of tension, wanting to throw them out as soon as possible.

  Images of Potions css and various cauldron explosions fshed through their minds, the ses brutally vivid.

  The trio shuddered in unison, the effeparable to mentioning "You-Know-Who."

  Hoare chuckled inwardly, knowing that the school used failed potions from all grades for various explosions.

  Plentiful, eco-friendly, and suffit.

  The four of them, holding the potions, hid in four ers.

  As soon as the troll ehey would attack together.

  Once hidden, they listeo the troll's roars and the screeg of the club dragging across the floor, their heartbeats growing louder until all they could hear was their owbeats.

  "Thud"

  The troll entered.

  With one swing, it smashed the door blog its way into splinters, leaving a mess before stopping.

  The four held their breath, watg the troll step by step move to their designated spot.

  Three, two, one.

  "Throw!!!"

  With Hoare's shout, the others charged out together!

  "Smash"

  "Smash"

  "Smash"

  "Smash"

  The sound of gss shattering echoed, each bottle of potion exploding into a burst.

  The troll staggered from the bsts, its skin partially melted by the potions!

  But it still wasn't enough.

  The troll grew even angrier, swinging its club wildly, smashing the marble floor into pieces.

  The four could only take the remaining potions and find a er to hide.

  This won't do, dealing with it bit by bit will take too long, it's best to finish it off in one go.

  Hoare raised his hand, gathering all the remaining potions.

  "Levitation Charm," he whispered, and the gss bottles floated gently above the troll's head.

  At that moment, Hoare raised his wand and aimed, "Reducto."

  A crisp explosion followed by the troll's wail.

  The troll's eyes were injured by the potions, and as it tried to cover its eyes with its only usable hand, it fot it was holding a club, resulting in a blow to its own forehead.

  After wobbling three times, the troll sat down heavily.

  It seemed exhausted, panting heavily, uo stand.

  "Is it safe now?" Ron peeked out to look.

  Hoare stopped the others from going out.

  Something was wrong with the troll.

  The potions they used could ftten aire mountaihe troll was only injured.

  Hoare recalled how the potions fell, notig they seemed to explode just before hitting the troll.

  This is...

  Hoare's expression turned serious as he hid in the er, carefully cheg for any other hiding spots.

  "What's wrong?" Hermione sensed something amiss and asked softly.

  "Someone's here," Hoare replied.

  The trio exged gnces, quietly peeking out to help Hoare search.

  "How could there be someone?" Ron muttered, but his eyes obediently searched.

  Then, Ron's eyes widened, gently tugging Hoare's robe, pointing to a er.

  It was the outermost stall.

  Uhe door, a pair of legs in bck boots was visible.

  Who could it be?

  tless possibilities fshed through Hoare's mind, finally settling on one person.

  Quirinus Quirrell, who had just fainted in the Great Hall.

  Hoare raised his wand, ready to strike first.

  "Stupefy"

  "Boom!"

  Hoare's spell and a loud explosion sounded simultaneously.

  In an instant, the ground shook.

  0Niffler0