Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 12 Trolls

Harry's training went smoothly. Since he had already learned about Quidditch from books, Wood saved him a lot of time explaining the rules. He gathered many teammates, including the Weasley twins, to train Harry with golf balls and give him some pointers on flying techniques. Even as dusk fell and everyone was exhausted, Harry maintained his perfect shooting record. This delighted Wood, and on the way back to the banquet hall, he told everyone he met, "Gryffindor is definitely going to win this year!"

……

Have you seen Hermione?

After serving himself a full plate of roasted ribs, Harry seemed to suddenly remember something and asked the people around him.

"Oh well, who cares? She's probably at the library again. Anyway, this guy doesn't know anything except reading. He doesn't even care about his own college training new Seekers."

Ron's words didn't reassure Harry, but just as he was about to stand up and look around, a terrified man wearing a turban rushed into the banquet hall—it was Professor Quirrell.

"Troll!"

he shouted.

"It's on the basement level!"

"I think we should let you know about this..."

After saying that, he collapsed to the floor and passed out. As a thunderclap struck from the ceiling, chaos erupted in the Great Hall. Apart from Harry and a few upperclassmen from the various houses, all the young wizards abandoned their dinners and rushed out of the Great Hall.

"quiet!"

Professor Dumbledore's voice boomed like a bell, instantly captivating the entire room.

"Please don't panic."

"Now, prefects, immediately lead the students from each college back to their respective dormitories."

"Teachers, come with me to the basement."

Percy reacted quickly, immediately going around to the first-year students and giving them instructions.

"First-grade students, please don't get separated from me. Everyone else, please make way. I'm the grade leader!"

With his older brother leading the way, Ron felt much more at ease. He wiped the light sweat from his forehead and turned to Harry, saying:

"I really don't know how those trolls got in here. They're all incredibly stupid, Harry, you tell me... Harry?"

……

Amidst the dense crowd, Harry was crouching low as he made his way towards the second-floor library. Just moments before, when Quirrell burst into the banquet hall, another voice of his (Mo Ran) had appeared in his mind for the first time while he was still conscious.

"Go find Hermione! Go to the library, and the women's restroom on that floor, quick!"

Harry didn't know why he (Mo Ran) was in such a hurry, but thinking that Hermione was unaware of the potential danger of the trolls' attack, he did as instructed.

Upon reaching the second floor, the library was already closed. Before Harry could even peek through the crack in the door, an indescribable stench suddenly filled the air. It was a mixture of Dudley's smelly socks and the stench of an uncleaned public toilet.

Following the scent, Harry saw a huge shadow approaching him from around the corner at the end of the corridor, accompanied by low footsteps. The shadow was at least twelve feet tall, and with each step, the floor beneath his feet trembled. Harry quickly ducked into the shadows, his mind racing.

"Should we run? Or lure it away? Even though we haven't found Hermione yet, having the teachers handle it is the best option, right?"

Before he could figure out what to do, a girl's piercing scream almost made his heart stop beating.

"what!"

Hermione, who had just stepped out of the women's restroom, looked up and saw a huge creature approaching from around the corner of the corridor. Its skin was like dirty granite, rough and dull, and even in the moonlight, it looked like a giant, dirty mound of dirt.

The troll clearly hadn't expected to encounter such a tiny creature. It raised its thick, long arm, scratched its head, which was much smaller than its palm and resembled a cocoa bean, and after thinking for a long time, decided to kill Hermione, who was yelling at it and slamming the door to hide.

"Ow!"

With a roar, the troll swung the wooden stick it had been dragging on the ground, smashing the thick wooden door of the women's restroom to pieces in one blow. The sound of wood chips flying everywhere drowned out Hermione's scream. At that moment, she was hiding in the corner stall, covering her head, completely unaware that the troll's thick, flat feet, as thick as tree stumps, were already walking towards her.

Harry ran incredibly fast, his wand, which had been tucked into his waistband, was now firmly in his hand. Since learning magic, he had been constantly distracted by various matters, never having had a chance to properly train his combat skills. He never imagined that his very first lesson as a recruit would be facing such an overwhelming enemy.

"Reducio!" (Shrink quickly)

At the last second, Harry's shrinking charm struck the troll's club precisely before it was about to smash into Hermione's compartment. The troll, having poured all its strength into its weapon, hadn't even realized why its weapon had turned into "chopsticks" before it lost its balance and collapsed heavily.

boom!

The sink, walls, and pipes were crushed to pieces by the weight of the object. Hermione was terrified, as if she were about to faint, but a familiar voice wouldn't allow her to give up so easily.

"Hermione, wake up! Get moving! Get moving now!"

"Grab this water pipe, hold on tight, you absolutely must hold on tight!"

"Accio Waterpipe!" (Water pipe flies in)

Hermione had no idea how she got away from the troll. She only remembered Harry throwing something at her and telling her to grab on, and then she was pulled away by a tremendous force.

Harry glanced at Hermione, whose legs were so weak she could barely stand in his arms, then hoisted her onto his shoulder. Next, he pointed his wand at the troll's rear end and chanted three spells in quick succession:

"Stupefy!" (Faints and collapses)

"Reducto!" (shattered to pieces)

"Confringo!" (Thunderous explosion)

In Harry's memory, the three spells were each more powerful than the last, and indeed they were. They blew through the tattered cloth the troll was wearing, tore through its thick callus, and finally left a small wound on its buttocks.

"Ow?"

The troll roared, but the sound didn't seem to be one of pain; rather, it was more like one filled with confusion. Harry then recalled the description of trolls in the book: they were incredibly strong, savage and brutal, yet utterly foolish. Because their skin had strong resistance to magic, wizards should use wits whenever possible when facing trolls, rather than brute force.

The giant that crawled out of the rubble quickly found the guy who attacked its butt. After rummaging around haphazardly and not finding the big stick, it simply tore off the thickest section of the water pipe from the wall, and the entire women's restroom was instantly splashed with water.

"Impedimento!" (Obstacles abound!)

"Reducio!" (Shrink quickly!)

Harry cast a Barrier Charm in front of the troll while shrinking the pipe he was holding. He couldn't think of any way to defeat the troll yet, so he could trap it as much as possible so he could get Hermione away from this place.

The giant, feeling its hand suddenly empty, looked down. It didn't know why the "stick" it had just picked up was gone again. After repeatedly ripping the water pipe clean, it became furious. Although its mind wouldn't allow it to connect the missing stick with Harry, at this moment, the little man in front of it was the only thing it could use to vent its anger.

boom!

The massive body slammed into Harry's Barrier Charm, shaking the entire bathroom. More and more water flowed from the bathroom into the hallway.

"Imperuious." (waterproof and moisture-proof)

Having gradually calmed down, Harry promptly cast a waterproof spell on himself. He didn't want to lose his life due to such a basic mistake as slipping. Then:

"Wingardium Leviosa."

"Enforgio." (To grow bigger quickly)

Harry targeted several large pieces of tile and broken wood in the ruins, enlarged them one by one, and hovered them in the air. Then, he flicked his wand and hurled these heavy objects at the troll.

"Ow! Ow!"

The "stakes" and "rocks" that Harry had enchanted were not magical in themselves; the immense force they generated upon impact was genuine physical damage. The troll felt as if it were being brutally beaten by several of its own kind wielding clubs, and its roars began to grow increasingly shrill.

Seeing that this trick worked, Harry immediately produced more "ammunition" in the same way, and after loading the "bullets," he also cast an additional spell to increase their destructive power.

"Oppugno!" (A barrage of bullets)

The increased speed of the heavy objects could no longer be described as "smashing"; they were practically cannonballs. Faced with such a clever combination of spells, even an adult wizard might not be able to handle it for a moment, let alone a foolish troll. The troll, writhing in pain, barely managed to raise its arm to block Harry's attack, but in less than two seconds, it collapsed into the ruins with a groan.

Rumble!

"Incarcerous!" (Immediately imprison them)

Faced with the already battered troll, Harry did not kill it. Instead, he used the surrounding ruins to bury it, added an extra binding spell on it, and then put Hermione off his shoulder.

The little witch's legs were still weak, so after helping her take a few steps, Harry simply picked Hermione up and said:

"We're safe now, let's go."

The stench of the troll's body still lingered in the air, but Hermione seemed oblivious to it. She buried her face in Harry's robes, her nostrils filled with the crisp, refreshing scent of citrus. Harry seemed to notice this too, feeling the warmth on his chest and arms. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't showered since training Quidditch with Wood and the others, and his face flushed even redder.

Mo Ran, hiding in the live stream room, was speechless. One second he was wondering if Harry's excellent combat intelligence was related to his reaction speed, and the next second, these two little brats were hugging each other.

"You guys are only 11 years old, how come you're already acting like you're about to fall in love? What was I doing when I was 11? I was in elementary school playing in the mud with my classmates... Oh well, most people don't experience fighting giants when they're 11, so I'd better not interfere in their relationship matters and let nature take its course."

After a good rant, Mo Ran immediately turned his attention back to business. He had been a little hesitant about whether to advise Harry to spend less time playing Quidditch, but now it seemed that Harry's reaction speed and adaptability as the Seeker could be applied to the game. So why should he be the villain who stifles his child's interests? Harry should not only play, but play well!

"boom!"

A sudden loud noise startled Harry, Hermione, and Moran. They turned around abruptly, only to find that the sound wasn't coming from the direction of the women's restroom!

Hermione whispered:

"Put me down, Harry, I can stand up now."

Harry glanced at her, nodded, and did as he was told, but even after releasing the little witch from his arms, he instinctively shielded her behind him.

"boom!"

The second impact was closer to them. Harry and Hermione both drew their wands, but could not find the source of the sound.