Hogwarts: What wicked thoughts could a little wizard possibly have?

Chapter 51 Ron's Highlight Moment

"The troll has been killed!"

That very night, the news spread throughout Hogwarts!

The next day, many of the young wizards who used to love sleeping in didn't even have time to wash their faces and, still not fully awake, ran to the courtyard with everyone.

As November arrived at Hogwarts, frost covered the ground.

The floorboards crunched underfoot, and the cold wind seemed to seep into your bones.

But this did not dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

A headless troll corpse, covered in frost, lay in the courtyard, surrounded by young wizards. Filch nailed a sign in front of the troll corpse, briefly recounting what had happened the previous night.

"...Mr. Vaughn Weasley and Mr. Ron Weasley each lost 10 points for leaving the dinner party midway through the day, violating school rules. However, after encountering the troll, the two gentlemen displayed courage, composure, and resourcefulness. Ultimately, Mr. Vaughn Weasley, with his superior spellcasting skills and the help of Mr. Ron Weasley, defeated the troll. Therefore, Slytherin receives 30 points, and Gryffindor receives 20 points!"

These dry rewards and punishments clearly failed to satisfy the young wizards' curiosity.

But don't worry, it's Halloween today, there are no classes, so you have plenty of time to find out.

The lively Gryffindor students started preparations last night and held a celebratory "morning feast" in the tower today. The excited twins sent invitations to every house.

They cheered when they saw everyone:

"It was our brother who killed the troll!"

When the young wizards from other houses arrived at the tower, Percy, the Weasley brother, greeted them with a beaming smile, wearing his gleaming prefecture badge.

"Thank you for coming to my brothers' celebration."

"Yes, yes, Vaughn and Ron are both great, just like me. We are the pride of the Weasley family."

The Great Hall of Gryffindor was cleaned efficiently, and the long tables were put together so that the house-elves of Hogwarts could show off their skills and make delicious food.

One of the long tables was surrounded by people, each holding pies and bread, listening to Ron Weasley, one of the "protagonists" of the previous night, vividly recount the entire event.

"...It's at least 20 feet...Don't interrupt, of course I know trolls are only 12 feet tall, that's just a visual description. I mean, when you see a monster that big, it's easy to misjudge its height..."

Ron's face was flushed, and his eyes were sparkling with excitement:

"...Like this, 'Shatter to pieces!' Vaughn blasted the troll's club apart with a Shattering Charm, and then it shattered into pieces, shattered into pieces. The troll's thick, mountain-like hide was blown to pieces, and dust filled the air. The troll screamed in pain, 'Ah—'"

The young wizards were startled, but quickly became engrossed in the thrilling story.

The older students listened with rapt attention, because they had all learned those incantations.

The effect of the spell that Ron dictated was a bit hard to imagine.

A young wizard looked at Ron with admiration and suddenly asked, "Ron, what spell did you use?"

"Of course it's a very powerful spell—" Ron said without changing his expression, casually making up a line like "the troll suddenly went blind" to highlight his "effect," and then switched back to Vorn to use the Explosion Spell.

In his words, that battle was truly a scene of utter chaos and darkness, with the giant monster's attacks being incredibly terrifying. It took Vaughn a great deal of effort and his help to finally utter a "powerful spell" that blasted the giant monster to pieces, leaving it a bloody mess.

As for why the giant monster in the courtyard is so intact now?

Of course, it was put together by the professors!

The evidence is that the giant has no head.

Because "the enraged Vaughn blew the troll's head to pieces, and the pieces were so shattered that they couldn't be put back together."

Harry and Hermione huddled in a corner. They didn't return from Madam Pomfrey until morning, when Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a large cup of sedative to soothe any lingering effects of the severe headache he had suffered the previous night.

Harry listened with great interest at first, but Hermione told him, "Ron is bragging."

Harry disagreed, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, and whispered to Hermione:

"You saw it last night too, how powerful Vaughn and that dark wizard were at casting spells."

"It's because Vaughn is so powerful," Hermione said. "He could never kill trolls in the way Ron described, with such a close and intense back-and-forth battle."

Harry finally realized what was happening and immediately lost interest in listening. He silently munched on his bread, one hand on his forehead, and after a long while, he suddenly asked, "Hermione, you said... why did Dumbledore tell us to keep what happened on the fourth floor a secret?"

He thought about this problem all night, but still couldn't figure it out.

In fact, he had many doubts.

For example, who is that man in black robes? Why does seeing his back give me a headache?

When he was beaten so badly by Vaughn that he couldn't fight back, who was the "master" he was calling for?

Also, why was I able to sense the thoughts of that man in black robes?

He suspected he was under some kind of dark magic.

But last night, Madam Pomfrey thoroughly examined him from head to toe and found no signs of dark magic.

Mrs. Pomfrey believed that he was so frightened that he was hallucinating.

Harry didn't know if she was right.

Hearing Harry's question, Hermione put down her book, thought for a moment, and said, "Dumbledore is probably worried that things will escalate, so he wants to investigate secretly."

Why?

"It's obvious, Harry. If it were a dark wizard who broke in, Dumbledore would definitely order the professors to search the entire castle for the students' safety, unless he suspects the dark wizard is one of the professors!"

Harry was shocked.

That man in black robes was actually a professor?

Although this judgment wasn't ideal, Harry thought about it carefully and concluded that it was the only reasonable explanation.

So, which professor is it?

The names of professors flashed through his mind, and then, involuntarily, he thought of Snape!

He told Hermione, but she firmly replied, "Impossible!"

"Hermione, you always think of your teacher as a saint. Snape has never given you a kind look."

"But last night, Snape went to the basement with Dumbledore, so how did he end up on the fourth floor again?"

"When Professor McGonagall took us to see Mrs. Pomfrey, she said the basement was complicated, they must have been separated, and Snape was the last to arrive at the headmaster's office."

"Anyway...anyway, it's impossible!"

Hermione picked up the book, hesitated for a moment, and then said angrily:

"Do you remember the incantation Vaughn recited yesterday? 'Divine Sharpness Without a Trace'."

Harry certainly remembered how Vaughn used it to pierce through the black-robed man's armor charm; it was incredibly cool.

Hermione said, "I shouldn't have said that, but Vaughn told me it was Snape who taught him!"

After saying that, she packed her schoolbag and prepared to leave.

Harry quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

"Go check on Vaughn! One of you is bragging, and the other is doubting the professor, but neither of you has thought to go see him!"

Shameful Harry quickly grabbed a piece of bread and followed.