The Weasley of Slytherin: The Philosopher's Stone

Chapter 13: Troll Problems

And with that he sank to the floor in a dead faint, although I thought it looked a bit too practiced, although no one else noticed this as there was an uproar.

It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" Perce was in his element.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as we climbed the stairs, I had followed them not really wanting to go back to the dungeons.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

"I dunno Peeves is mischievous but this, this seems too much for him." I said.

We passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As we jostled our way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron and mine arms.

"I've just thought — Hermione."

"What about her?" Ron asked confused.

"She doesn't know about the troll." Ron bit his lip.

"Yeah and it's sorta your fault Ron." I told him.

"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."

Ducking down, we joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom.

We had just turned the corner when we heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry and me behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Beats me." I whispered back.

Quietly as possible, we crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. "He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.

"Can you smell something?" Ron muttered.

"Yeah I wasn't going to say anything Ron but now that you mention it." I whispered back. But as I sniffed a foul stench reached my nostrils, a mixture of sweat and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.

And then we heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them.

We shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut.

It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

"Looks a bit like Perce when he wakes up." I muttered to Ron, who grinned at this.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

We edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.