Harry wanted to take Ron to apologize to Hermione, but Hermione never showed up for the next class.
Throughout the afternoon, Hermione was nowhere to be seen, and Harry had to put the matter aside for the moment.
On their way to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Hermione's roommate, Parvati Patil, talking to her friend about Hermione crying in the girls' bathroom.
This made Ron very uncomfortable, especially under Harry's urging, as he began to feel he might have been truly wrong.
"We should apologize to her after the feast," Ron said. He wasn't a bad kid and couldn't ignore his kind nature.
Harry nodded, and the two planned to apologize to Hermione after the Halloween feast.
As they entered the Great Hall, the dazzling Halloween decorations immediately captured their eyes.
A thousand bats fluttered around the walls and ceiling, creating a mesmerizing display.
Above the tables, another thousand bats swirled like dark clouds.
Carved pumpkins with flickering candles lit up the tables, and delicious dishes appeared on golden plates.
John glanced around and then threw a potato at Neville's head.
"Neville, where's Hermione?"
Neville turned his head, saw John, and after a moment's pause, recalled, "I heard Parvati Patil say that Hermione is crying in the girls' bathroom and doesn't want anyone to comfort her."
"Is that so? I should go find her; she wouldn't want to miss such a wonderful feast."
John felt a growing unease; he remembered what the Bloody Baron had said.
Moreover, he had a sense that something significant would happen today, as if there was a plot here.
[Ding! Solve the troll issue with Hermione and receive: +1 Free Point, Buff: Troll Slayer]
[Troll Slayer: Increased damage to large creatures]
John was stunned, and his expression changed.
He suddenly remembered: a troll would appear during the Halloween feast.
He didn't believe that a young witch like Hermione could deal with a twelve-foot-tall troll with immense strength.
Without further thought, John left his seat.
Dumbledore, enjoying a sweet pumpkin cake, noticed this, and his wise eyes behind half-moon spectacles seemed to ponder something.
Soon after John left, Professor Quirrell, with a large turban on his head, ran into the hall.
His face was full of terror, and everyone stopped to look at him.
Quirrell quickly made his way to Dumbledore's chair, leaned against it, and said in a trembling, breathless voice:
"Troll... in the dungeon... thought you should know."
His words were disjointed but conveyed one clear message.
There was a troll.
After speaking, Quirrell fainted to the floor.
The hall immediately fell into chaos, but Dumbledore quickly brought order, instructing the prefects to lead the students back to their dormitories.
Harry and Ron were among them. Ron suspected that Peeves might have let the troll in as a prank.
However, Harry suddenly remembered Hermione.
"Oh no, Hermione doesn't know about the troll."
Ron bit his lip, glanced at his prefect brother Percy, and decisively said, "Alright, let's just hope Percy doesn't see us."
The two immediately ducked down to avoid being noticed and left the line.
On their way to the girls' bathroom, Harry saw Professor Snape heading towards the fourth floor.
This planted a seed of suspicion in his mind.
…
First floor, girls' bathroom.
Hermione was crying in a stall. She was excellent in many ways, but she was still a young girl.
Being isolated by her classmates made her very upset.
After crying for a while, she felt somewhat better.
Sniffling, she walked to the sink and washed her face, her eyes still red.
"John wouldn't dislike me."
She comforted herself, knowing she at least had John as a friend.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she was startled by a knock on the door.
"Who's there?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" It was John.
He had found the girls' bathroom and, hearing Hermione was okay, he sighed in relief.
Just as he was about to tell Hermione to open the door, he caught a foul stench.
The smell rivaled that of the Weasley twins' dungbombs, a combination of dirty socks and an uncleaned public restroom.
John almost passed out from the odor and turned to see a massive shadow, accompanied by grumbling and heavy footsteps.
John grabbed the door that was about to open and seriously said to Hermione inside, "Hermione, find a place to hide and don't open the door."
His eyes were fixed on the troll. Trolls were known for their low intelligence, but there was no denying the pressure exerted by this twelve-foot-tall creature with granite-like skin.
Its underdeveloped head looked like a stone topped with a cocoa bean, and it held a large wooden club.
John didn't doubt that getting hit by this thing would hurt more than a Bludger.
"Today will be a tough fight."
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, John was about to face this giant creature for the first time, one even larger than Hagrid.
The troll, with its poorly functioning brain, scratched its head in confusion at the sight of John. But this didn't mean it was harmless.
On the contrary, the troll was extremely dangerous.
John nervously shifted his footing as the troll lumbered closer.
"Alright, big guy, let's have a real bloody battle."
Licking his lips, John's eyes glinted with a ferocious light.
With a flick of his left hand, his wand appeared, and he pointed it at the troll.
"Reducto!"
A white light hit the troll, making it roar in pain and stagger back, a fist-sized mark appearing on its skin.
This enraged the troll, and it swung its club at John.
John dodged, the club smashing the bathroom door into splinters.
"Ahhh!"
Hermione's scream echoed as John's next spell hit the troll.
"Over here!"
Shouting, John ran back, leading the troll away from the bathroom.
…
Harry and Ron arrived at the bathroom, their hearts sinking at the sight of the shattered door.
"Hermione!"
They ran into the girls' bathroom and saw Hermione in the corner.
"It looks like the troll didn't get inside."
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, they heard Hermione's trembling, anxious voice, "John! John lured the troll away. We need to go help him."
Even Ron couldn't hold any grudges against Hermione at this moment.
Gryffindors didn't lack the courage to risk their lives for friends, so they ran in the direction of the troll.
…
John calculated the distance. They were now far enough from the girls' bathroom to avoid affecting Hermione.
He rolled forward to dodge the club that whistled past him, and without hesitation, he turned and cast a spell.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The rubble from the wall shattered by the troll's club floated up and, guided by John's wand, smashed into the troll.
The troll stumbled back in pain as the debris hit its face.
Seizing the opportunity, John grabbed the sword from a nearby suit of medieval armor and slashed it in mid-air, aiming with all his might at the troll's arm that held the club.
Blood sprayed out, and under the moonlight, the gleaming sword seemed to dance elegantly like a waltz.
Though the blow didn't sever the troll's arm, it caused enough pain to make it drop the club, making the creature even more frenzied.
The troll's attack pattern was as simple as its brain, and in its rage, it became easier to predict.
"Reducto!"
Using the same trick, John dodged the sweeping club and hit the troll's forehead with another Reducto spell, causing it to collapse.
With a swift move, he sliced off the troll's fingers, making it impossible for it to grasp the club.
Before the club hit the ground, John used a Levitation Charm to hold it in mid-air and then swung it with all his might, smashing the troll and sending it flying.
"It's over."
Seeing the troll crash into an unlucky suit of medieval armor and then lay still, John breathed a sigh of relief.
He walked forward to make sure the creature was truly dead.
As he got close, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived.
Seeing the mess, their jaws dropped wide enough to swallow a whole potato.
"John, are you alright?" Harry shouted.
John turned to look at them, but at that moment, the troll he thought was dead opened its eyes.
Its still-functional left hand swung toward John, making the trio scream in fear.
On instinct, John swung his sword, clashing with the troll's hand.
Clang.
The sword flew out and embedded itself in the ceiling, leaving John with a numb hand and no weapon.
But let's not forget, he was a wizard.
His left hand, holding the wand, struck the troll's eye like a viper.
With his face set in a grim expression, John delivered the final blow.
"Reducto!"
Even a troll couldn't withstand a Reducto spell exploding in its brain.