"Halloween and the Troll"

"Halloween and the Troll"

Days passed, and Stephen witnessed Ron making fun of Hermione.

"Looks like Halloween is here! Sometimes your brother needs a lesson," Stephen said to the twins, who, like him, watched as their brother angered a girl.

"Well, it was because he broke Fred's broom that we pulled the spider prank on him,"

"And when we did the clown prank, it was because he told Mom that George was the one who ate Percy's cookies," the twins explained.

"Let's get to class. The Halloween feast is going to be loud," Stephen said as he walked away with the twins, already thinking about what to do.

After a class with Snape—where he and Stephen exchanged sharp and mocking remarks, something the other students were already used to—it was time to head to the Great Hall.

When they arrived, they found the hall beautifully decorated, with giant floating heads and even a few clowns adorning the room. Normally, during Halloween, the group would go out to scare people, but this year, they decided to enjoy the feast instead.

"Go ahead and eat without me. I'm off to play with a dumb giant and a silly girl," Stephen said, leaving the twins confused.

"Giant? Does he mean Hagrid?"

"Well, he is pretty big... but dumb?"

"A dumb giant? He doesn't mean me, does he?" Hagrid asked as he entered through the grand doors.

"No, no, Hagrid, Stephen said he was going to look for one,"

"And it can't be you since he left, and you're here," the twins quickly said, earning a smile from the half-giant.

"Alright then, let's eat. I grew all these pumpkins myself and took care of them for today," Hagrid said, giving them a hearty pat on the back that nearly knocked them to the ground.

Meanwhile, in a corridor leading to the dungeon, Stephen walked calmly.

Until he saw Quirrell running toward the Great Hall at full speed.

Stephen hid and watched him pass, noting how the man maintained his nervous act even when no one was looking. Then he glanced at the paintings around him and understood why. And why Dumbledore never suspected "Tumordemort"—his personal nickname for Voldemort, who was currently stuck to the back of Quirrell's head like a tumor.

"'Tumor' sounds a bit harsh. Maybe I should call him a parasite… virus… plague? No, it doesn't match the name," Stephen muttered as he continued toward the bathroom, waiting outside. He couldn't exactly barge into the girls' restroom without a reason.

After a while of listening to some quiet sobbing from inside, the troll finally peeked its ugly, deformed head around the hallway corner. Upon seeing Stephen, it began moving faster toward him, swinging its enormous wooden club.

"Seriously? You should learn not to approach strangers. Though, looking that ugly, I doubt anyone would want to take you," Stephen said as he raised his hands, summoning Eldritch magic to create chains that quickly bound the massive creature, pinning it against a wall.

He also shoved the handle of its club into its mouth to keep it from making noise, leaving the troll wide-eyed and struggling in vain. Meanwhile, Stephen casually snapped a picture and sent it to the professors.

Perhaps the slight commotion drew Hermione's attention, as she stepped out of the bathroom, drying her face. Stephen turned around.

"What's wrong, little crying girl? Why so sad?" he asked with a smile.

"I... I'm not crying! I just washed my face," Hermione responded, embarrassed, only to suddenly notice what was behind Stephen.

"Wh-why is there a troll here?" she asked in alarm, taking a step back.

"No idea, but it was heading straight for the bathroom you were in. Maybe it really needed to go and couldn't make it to the boys'," Stephen said casually.

Without warning, he grabbed Hermione and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before starting to walk away.

"What are you doing?! I can walk on my own!" Hermione protested, her face red with embarrassment.

"I know, but I enjoy embarrassing people. Now stay still, or I'll give you a bump on the head," Stephen said, continuing forward.

As Hermione was about to argue against Stephen's absurdity, Ron and Harry suddenly arrived, running at full speed. They had come to help Hermione after hearing Quirrell talk about the troll.

"Hermione, we have to go back! There's a troll loose in the dungeon!" Harry shouted urgently, only for his stunned friend to pat his shoulder and point forward.

"What…? The troll… is chained up?" Harry said, bewildered.

"Oh, how nice, guys. The ones who made a girl cry came to warn her she was in danger," Stephen said with a bit of irony.

"We didn't... I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron said, embarrassed.

"It's okay, thank you for trying to warn me about the troll, even if you put yourselves in danger," Hermione said softly.

"What will you do with the troll, Stephen? And Hermione, were you hurt?" Harry asked curiously.

"Just call me Stephen, that's fine, we're just a few years apart. Don't worry, I already sent a message to the professors. Or well, maybe you should worry since you're here, and the crybaby is fine, I'm just teasing her," Stephen said as he heard footsteps approaching.

"Stephen, what happened here? And why are first-year students, who were supposed to be in their dormitories, here as well? And put Miss Granger down, that is not the proper way to carry a young lady," McGonagall asked as she looked at the troll, then at the children, reprimanding Stephen for how he was carrying Hermione.

"I can't carry her like a princess, because otherwise, they'd have to collect my blood all over France, Professor," Stephen defended himself while setting the embarrassed Hermione down.

"Stephen, you caught the troll? That's amazing. You used chains, since trolls are Resistant to magic." Flitwick spoke from the side.

"That doesn't change the fact that the students disobeyed orders to return to their rooms," Snape said venomously while looking at Harry.

"It was my fault, professors, I wan—Ouch! Why did you do that?" As Hermione was about to lie to help her friends, Stephen flicked her on the head, stopping her.

"There's no need to tell lies, little crybaby," Stephen said to Hermione after stopping her.

"I'm not a crybaby! I have a name and a last name, and it's Hermione Granger!" an angry Hermione responded.

"Alright, fine, you can tell us what happened, Stephen," said the Headmaster, who had been watching from the side.

"If you noticed, I wasn't in the Great Hall to hear what was going on. As you can see, Snape, I was strolling through the castle when I heard someone sad, who turned out to be Miss Hermione. Why she was sad, I don't know, but sometimes women are incomprehensible," Stephen said, earning nods from the male professors while Professors Sprout and McGonagall looked at them with disdain.

"Then I saw the big guy approaching, and when I noticed he was heading toward the bathrooms, I just tied him to the wall. I waited for the crybaby to come out, and we started heading back. Meanwhile, Ron and Harry were coming to warn us about the troll, which was supposed to be in the dungeons," Stephen finished.

"Alright, while it was brave to come and warn your friend, it was also very dangerous. I'll let the professor decide what to do in this situation. Now, professors and Stephen, please help take the troll to where it belongs," the Headmaster said as he approached the troll.

"You, as the Headmaster said, acted recklessly, so I will deduct 100 points from Gryffindor. However, for your bravery and trying to help a friend, you will receive 40 points... each," McGonagall said.

"Professor, I deserve more! I acted like a perfect prince charming, saving the damsel from the evil troll," Stephen said from a distance, earning a smile from the trio.

"Don't push it, Mr. Stephen. Be grateful you weren't punished for destroying a column in the courtyard while training your classmates," McGonagall said, recalling how, from time to time, while Stephen trained with his peers, things tended to get a bit out of hand.

"But that was Jordan, trying to impress Angelina," Stephen grumbled as he continued dragging the troll, still bound in chains but now freed from the wall.

After taking it out of the castle, he left the rest of the work to the professors and returned to Gryffindor Tower, where Hermione, Ron, and Harry were waiting for him.

"Stephen... I forgot to say it earlier, but thank you for saving me," Hermione said.

Meanwhile, the other two had an idea in mind but didn't know if they should say it.

Until Harry gathered the courage and spoke first.

"Mr. Stephen... sir, I wanted to ask if you could teach us how to fight," Harry said with a bit of fear of being rejected.

"Yeah, we want to learn how to capture a troll like you did today. The twins said you were the dueling champion, so you must be really strong," Ron said.

"You're a dueling champion? I didn't know that. But I want to learn Eldritch magic. Even though I read the whole book, I still can't use the spells," Hermione said.

"You read the whole book? Wow, you're such a nerd!" Stephen said teasingly.

"I'm not a nerd! If you don't want to teach me, that's fine, I can learn on my own," Hermione said angrily.

"Alright, don't get mad, fuzzy-head," Stephen said, ruffling Hermione's already messy hair even more.

"Be in the backyard at 7 a.m. If you're late, don't bother coming; I don't want slackers," Stephen said as he headed to his room.

"Yes!" the three responded excitedly. Although the next day, they wouldn't be so excited, as they would soon meet hell...

—-----

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