Chapter 51: Ron’s Moment Of Glory
“The troll is dead!”
That night, the news spread throughout Hogwarts!
By the next day, many young wizards who usually loved to sleep in, without even washing their faces, and still groggy from sleep, rushed to the courtyard with everyone else.
Hogwarts in November was covered in frost.
The ground crunched underfoot, and the cold wind felt like it could penetrate one’s bones.
But this couldn’t dampen everyone’s enthusiasm.
A headless troll carcass lay there, covered in frost, surrounded by young wizards. Filch had nailed a sign in front of the troll’s body, briefly recounting the events of the previous night.
“…Mr. Vaughn Weasley and Mr. Ron Weasley have each lost 10 points for leaving the banquet midway, violating school rules. However, after encountering the troll, both gentlemen were brave, fearless, and resourceful. Ultimately, Mr. Vaughn Weasley, with his superb spellcasting skills and with the help of Mr. Ron Weasley, defeated the troll. Therefore, Slytherin gains 30 points, and Gryffindor gains 20 points!”
These dry rewards and punishments clearly couldn’t satisfy the young wizards’ curiosity.
But there was no need to worry; today was Halloween, there were no classes, and there was plenty of time to find out.
The lively Gryffindors had been preparing since last night and were hosting a celebratory “early banquet” in the tower today. The excited twins had sent invitations to every house.
Everyone they saw was cheering:
“Our brother killed the troll!”
When young wizards from other houses arrived at the tower, Percy, the elder brother of the Weasleys, wearing his shiny prefect badge, greeted everyone with a beaming smile.
“Thank you for coming to my brothers’ celebratory feast.”
“Yes, yes, Vaughn and Ron are both excellent, just like me. We are all the pride of the Weasley family.”
The small Great Hall in Gryffindor was efficiently cleaned, the long tables were pushed together, and the Hogwarts house-elves showed their prowess, preparing delicious food.
One long table was packed with people, all holding pies and bread, listening as one of last night’s “protagonists,” Ron Weasley, colorfully recounted the entire process.
“…It was at least 20 feet tall… Don’t interrupt, of course I know trolls are only 12 feet tall, that’s just a visual description. I mean, when you see such a large monster, it’s easy to misjudge its height…”
Ron’s face was flushed, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
“…Just like this, ‘Crumble and Shatter!’ Vaughn cast a Shattering Curse that blew up the troll’s club, and then it exploded, pieces flying everywhere. The troll’s hide, as thick as a mountain, was blown all over the place, dust filled the air, and the troll roared in pain, Ah—”
The young wizards jumped in surprise, then quickly became immersed in the thrilling story.
The older students were also captivated, as the spells Ron mentioned were ones they had learned.
It was just that the effects of the spells Ron described were difficult to imagine.
One young wizard looked at Ron adoringly and suddenly asked, “Ron, what spell did you use?”
“Of course, a very powerful spell—” Ron said without batting an eye, casually fabricating “The troll suddenly went blind,” to highlight his own “contribution,” and then switched back to Vaughn using an explosion spell.
In his telling, the battle was so fierce it blotted out the sun and moon. The troll’s attacks were terrifying. Vaughn, with great difficulty and Ron’s help, managed to cast a “powerful spell” that blew the troll to pieces, scattering them everywhere.
As for why the troll in the courtyard was so intact now?
Of course, the professors had put it back together!
The evidence was that the troll was headless.
Because “an enraged Vaughn blew off the troll’s head into fragments, scattered everywhere, impossible to reassemble.”
Harry and Hermione were huddled in a corner. They had only returned from Madam Pomfrey that morning. Madam Pomfrey had given Harry a large cup of tranquilizer to soothe any potential after-effects of the severe headache he had experienced the previous night.
Harry had initially listened with great interest, but Hermione told him, “Ron is boasting.”
Harry disagreed. Looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, he whispered to Hermione:
“You saw it last night too, how powerful Vaughn and that dark wizard were when they dueled.”
“That’s precisely because Vaughn is so powerful,” Hermione said. “It’s impossible for him to have killed the troll in a prolonged, back-and-forth battle like Ron described.”
Harry finally understood and immediately lost interest in listening. He silently chewed his bread, one hand on his forehead. After a long pause, he suddenly asked, “Hermione, why do you think… Dumbledore asked us to keep what happened on the fourth floor a secret?”
He had pondered this question all night without understanding.
In fact, he had many doubts.
For instance, who was the person in the black robe? Why did his head hurt when he saw his back?
When he was unable to fight back against Vaughn, who was the “master” he called out to?
Also, why could he sense the black-robed person’s thoughts?
He suspected he had been hit with some dark magic.
But Madam Pomfrey had given him a thorough examination from head to toe last night, and no signs of dark magic were found.
Madam Pomfrey believed he had simply been too frightened and had hallucinations.
Harry didn’t know if she was right.
Hearing Harry’s question, Hermione put down her book and thought for a moment before saying, “Dumbledore is probably worried about the matter escalating. He wants to investigate quietly.”
“Why?”
“It’s obvious, Harry. If it were an intruder, for the students’ safety, Dumbledore would surely order the professors to search the entire castle. Unless… he suspects the dark wizard is one of the professors!”
Harry was shocked.
Could that dark-robed person be one of the professors?
Although it wasn’t a pleasant thought, Harry considered it carefully and found it to be the only plausible explanation.
So, which professor could it be?
The names of professors flashed through his mind, and he involuntarily thought of Snape!
He told Hermione, but she firmly replied, “Impossible!”
“Hermione, you always see teachers as saints. Snape has never been nice to you.”
“But last night, Snape went to the basement with Dumbledore. How could he have been on the fourth floor again?”
“When Professor McGonagall took us to find Madam Pomfrey, she said the basement was very complex. They must have split up, and Snape was the last one to arrive at the Headmaster’s office.”
“Anyway… anyway, it’s impossible!”
Hermione picked up her book, hesitated for a moment, and then said irritably:
“Do you remember the spell Vaughn cast yesterday? Sectumsempra.”
Harry certainly remembered. Vaughn had used it to penetrate the dark-robed person’s Full Body-Bind Curse, which was so cool.
Hermione said, “I shouldn’t be saying this, but Vaughn told me that Snape taught him that!”
Having said that, she packed her bag and prepared to leave.
Harry quickly asked, “Where are you going?”
“To see Vaughn. One of you is boasting, and the other is suspecting professors. Neither of you thought to go see him!”
Shamefaced, Harry quickly grabbed a piece of bread and followed her.
