Challenging the Troll

As Halloween approached, Damian knew it was time to put his plans into motion. He had studied long and hard for this moment, preparing spells and strategies that he could finally use. 

"You're really going to skip it?" Daphne asked, standing by the dormitory door. 

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his forehead. "I don't feel great. You guys go on without me." 

"Are you sure?" Tracey asked, her brows furrowed with concern. 

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "I just need some rest." 

Draco glanced at him as they left. "If you need anything, just send an owl. We'll bring some food back." 

They soon left for the feast. After a few minutes, Damian quietly left and made his way to the first floor, knowing full well that this was the night the troll would enter Hogwarts. 

Walking down the corridor, he kept his senses sharp, constantly alert for any movement or sound. Suddenly, he heard heavy footsteps behind him, and a foul stench filled the air. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with the troll, its massive, grotesque form looming over him. 

The troll raised its massive wooden club, and without hesitation, Damian drew his wand. "Stupefy!" The red jet of light hit the troll squarely in the chest. It stumbled back a few steps, grunting in pain, but instead of collapsing, it roared in fury and charged straight at him. 

Its movements were slow but powerful, each step sending vibrations through the stone floor. He threw up a shield, "Protego!" But the troll's club came down with the force of a hammer, shattering the magical barrier like glass. The impact sent him skidding backward, and the club smashed through the lavatory door, revealing a terrified Hermione Granger, cowering near the sinks. 

Fear clutched his chest, but he couldn't let it show. "Petrificus Totalus!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the troll. The spell hit, locking its limbs momentarily, but the brute was so massive that it only slowed it down for a few seconds. 

"Granger, move!" he shouted, his voice laced with urgency. But she was frozen in place, paralyzed with fear, unable to take even a single step. 

The troll roared again, shaking off the paralysis, and raised its club once more. Damian needed to buy more time. "Incarcerous!" Thick ropes shot from his wand, wrapping themselves tightly around the troll's arms and legs, binding it in place. The troll struggled and snarled, trying to break free. The ropes wouldn't hold for long. 

His mind raced. He needed a way to stop it for good. That's when he saw the troll's massive wooden club lying on the floor, and an idea struck him. With a flick of his wand, he used a simple first-year spell to transfigure the club into a giant steel needle. The wood shimmered and morphed into metal, long and deadly sharp. 

He raised his wand again, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The needle floated into the air, hovering above the troll's chest. The troll, still struggling with the ropes, didn't even notice what was coming next. 

"Depulso!" he cast, sending the needle hurtling downward. It drove straight into the troll's chest with a sickening thud, sinking deep into its thick hide. The troll let out a final roar of agony before collapsing onto the cold stone floor, dead. 

Panting and exhausted, Damian lowered his wand and took a few shaky steps back.

 That was crazy. He thought. I am not doing something like this again. 

His heart was still racing, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He had done it. He had killed the troll. 

At that moment, the door burst open, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley came charging in, their wands drawn. "What are you doing, you slimy snake?" Ron snarled, glaring at Damian as if he had somehow caused all this. 

Damian gave him a tired, unamused look. "I was just setting up a troll to be your date, Weasley. What do you think I was doing?" 

Before Ron could retort, the professors arrived—Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick among them. McGonagall immediately started lecturing about the rules Damian had broken and how foolish it was to face the troll. Hermione, however, took the blame, claiming she had gone after the troll herself, and Harry and Ron had come to save her. To Damian's utter disbelief, the two Gryffindors were awarded points for "protecting" her. 

Snape narrowed his eyes on him. "And what were you doing here, Mr. Black?" he asked, his voice dripping with suspicion. 

"I didn't feel well enough to attend the feast," Damian replied calmly. "So, I thought a walk in the corridors might help. That's when I stumbled upon the troll and... killed it." 

Flitwick, to Damian's relief, seemed more impressed than angry. "Your spellwork was quite exceptional," he said, giving him an approving nod. "For your skill, I'm awarding Slytherin 30 points." 

As the other professors moved on, Flitwick leaned in and spoke quietly, "I'll give you a chance to prove yourself in duelling practice. Impress me in a month, and I'll take you on as my student." 

"Thank you, Professor," Damian said, genuinely grateful. "For believing in me." 

"Now, go get some rest," he said kindly. "Your training begins tomorrow at 5 p.m." 

With that, Damian returned to the common room, too exhausted to think about anything other than the bed waiting for him. Tomorrow, the real challenge will begin. 

The next morning, after the incident with the wild troll, Damian Black was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, keeping to himself as usual. He turned a corner near the library and almost bumped into Hermione Granger, who was clearly looking for him. She hesitated before speaking.

"Damian," Hermione started, her voice a bit unsure. "I wanted to—uh—thank you. For saving me yesterday. From the troll."

Damian raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Your welcome," he replied coolly and added with a smirk. "Well, it wasn't exactly hard to find you. You were busy being a bossy know-it-all, probably lecturing the troll on how to hold its club."

Hermione's expression shifted, her gratitude fading quickly as her face flushed with indignation. "I wasn't—" she began, clearly taken aback. "You didn't have to be rude about it! I was just trying to thank you."

Damian shrugged,still grinning clearly unbothered by her reaction. "Just calling it like I see it. You are bossy. And a know-it-all."

Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. "And you're still as rude as ever, Black. I don't know why I even bothered!" She turned on her heel, her robes swishing dramatically as she stormed away.

Damian watched her go, shaking his head slightly and chuckling slightly. "Always so dramatic," he muttered under his breath before continuing on his way.

Rumours had spread of Damian defeating the troll, and his friends pestered him till the end. 

Damian sat in the library with his friends, trying to catch up on their homework. But the others couldn't stop talking about it. 

"Damian, I still can't believe you managed to defeat that troll," Tracey said, shaking her head. 

"It was thanks to my luck," he said, thinking about it. "But I had to be creative to kill it. Thankfully it was stupid as hell." 

"Still," Blaise added, "most people would've frozen, or worse. But you fought and killed it." 

Draco grinned, slapping him on the back. "If that had been me, I probably would've tried to outfly it and attack airborne. But I guess your method works fine too." 

Damian chuckled, thinking about it. "Let's just hope I don't have to fight anything bigger."