The_Lonely_Guy

Read till chapter 19.3 in advance for free: ATWAA

Chapter - 17.1

"But how?" Harry scrunched his nose as he looked at Alex and Hermione standing side by side.

"He used this spell. I don't know what it was, but suddenly the troll stopped moving," Ron, who was behind Potter, told him.

"Why are they always a step ahead?" Harry mumbled to himself. This was becoming a regular pattern now.

"What?" Ron couldn't catch that and asked.

But Harry ignored Ron and was thinking about the possibilities of what could have happened. But at that moment, the troll suddenly moved. The spell was broken, and before anyone could react, the troll grabbed Potter its large palms and lifted him up. Then with its other hand, the troll held Potter by his leg and turned him upside down.

This was odd... How can the troll break his spell? Alex was not sure, but right now, he had to make sure that the troll did not tear the pretty boy apart. Alex again had the wand in his hand, but when he was about to attack the troll, he found something peculiar. The troll did not attack Potter. And neither did it look like he had any intention of doing that. The troll was looking at Alex with his gaze a little dodgy. And he had Potter in front of him, acting like a shield.

'Is he trying to negotiate with Potter as a shield?' Alex was amused, 'How can this dumb thing think like that?'

But in the end, a troll was nothing more than a troll, no matter how smart it was. How can Potter, who was a bit more than four feet, shield a twelve odd feet long troll? It was hilarious.

"Petrificus Totalus," Alex again decided to go with the petrification spell.

And it was a no-brainer. Soon the troll was standing still, with Potter hanging upside down.

And like how police arrive at a scene after the crime has long occurred, as soon as Alex was done taking care of the troll, Professor McGonagall came bursting into the room.

But Professor McGonagall was not alone. Following closely behind her were Professor Snape and Professor Quirell. As soon as Professor Quirell looked at the troll in front of them, he let out a faint whimper and sat quickly down on the floor, clutching his heart.

"Is he for real?" Alex frowned. Alex has never liked the guy. He was nothing but a wimp teaching Defence against the Dark Arts. It didn't make sense to Alex why someone like him was even allowed to teach at Hogwarts. Or maybe Alex had a prejudice against him because he heard a rumour that Professor Snape was eyeing that spot.

"There must be some reason..." Hermione, who was beside Alex, said when she heard Alex. But her tone was that of someone not wanting to oppose Alex. She was already in shock with the magical display Alex had shown her. Everything happened so fast and precise that she could not keep her eyes away from Alex. Her admiration for Alex since the first time she met him had increased multiple folds today.

On the opposite end of the washroom. When Professor McGonagall saw Harry hanging upside down in the clutches of the troll, she panicked.

The Professor was about to cast a spell when Alex interrupted her, "It's alright, Professor. It isn't moving."

And indeed. Only after hearing Alex did the three Professors notice that the troll was standing still like a statue. From the troll, their gaze soon turned towards the club stabbed into the wall behind them. The washroom looked like a battlefield. The walls were smashed, the floor was dug up, and it was a miracle that they could not see any casualties.

"What the hell happened here," compared to the other Professors, Professor McGonagall was the most agitated, "What on earth were you boys thinking?"

"... With all this," Professor McGonagall pointed at the debris on the floor, "It's a miracle that you all are not dead. Why aren't you in your dormitories?" Professor McGonagall went on a spree with her questions.

"And you, Mr Ashbridge. I never expected such behaviour from you," The Professor specifically expressed her disappointment towards Alex.

"Please... Professor McGonagall... They were looking for me," Suddenly, Hermione spoke up, coming out from behind Alex, "It's all my fault."

"I went out of my way to look for the troll. Because... I... I have read all about them. So I thought I could deal with one on my own. You know... Because I have read all about it," Hermoine said. It was a downright lie. And just as Hermione lied, two girls also showed up at the entrance to the washroom. Gemma and Nicole had just arrived when they heard Hermione.

"All of them came to help me. If they didn't, I'd be dead by now," Hermione looked up from the floor and turned her gaze towards Alex, "They didn't have the time to fetch a teacher. It was about to finish me when they arrived," Hermione continued with her lie. She thought it might help Alex and the other two to steer away from trouble.

But Nicole felt suffocation in her chest when she saw the way Hermione looked at her brother. Hermione was saying one thing, but her eyes conveyed a different message. On the other hand, Gemma was relieved to see Alex. After she asked around in the Slytherin dormitory, she found that no one saw Alex return. And this made her restless. If something were to happen to him... She could not even think about what they would have to face. She was still not clear about the relationship between Professor Snape and Alex. But now that he was standing in one piece in front of her, all was good.

Meanwhile, Ron nodded to every word that Hermione spoke. It was as if he was reliving that experience. He wanted everyone to believe from his actions that he was indeed the hero of this ordeal.

But Harry, at this moment, could not appreciate the sacrifice of Hermione. He was hanging upside down and starting to feel dizzy.

"Professor... Can you please..." Harry called out to Professor Snape, standing beside him. Right now, he did not care if he had to ask for help from even someone like Professor Snape, who hated him.

But before Potter could even submit his mercy petition, Professor Snape gave Harry a swift piercing look, "Shut up, I am enjoying this."

"Huh...?"

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