The ShapeShifter

Chapter 19 - A Classic Hogwarts Surprise

Chapter 19 - A Classic Hogwarts Surprise

          Finally, a couple days later I was out of the hospital wing! (Victory!!!) It’s a relief to finally be able to sleep in my own bed, in the Gryffindor common room. Looking around, I sat on my plush bed, with red Gryffindor sheets. 

“Hello? Earth to Bea!” Hermione announces. Oh, right we were in the middle of a conversation... Probably about schoolwork, yeah that explains the zoning out...

“We still have to complete the essay that Professor McGonagal gave us! So let’s go!!!” She says, pulling me up from my cozy bed, and down into the common room. 

“I’m coming, i’m comin-” I freeze. Standing right in front of me is Fred. Oh boy. What should I say? 

“Umm.. Hey!” I manage to get out.

“Hey!” He replies, “I was actually looking for you, I wanted to-” 

Suddenly Hermione pushes between us, interrupting his sentence, and my thoughts. 

“This is no time for you two to gawk over each other, whilst trying to string together words! We have a paper to right!!” Hermione grabs me by the wrist and pulls me through the portrait hole.

“Hermione! He was about to say something important!” I exclaim, as we walk down to the library. 

“Yeah, but can’t you talk about it later? The conversation probably wouldn’t have gone very far either, and we have a HUGE paper to write! It’s practically making up half our overall grade!” 

“Don’t you think you’re exaggeration just a tad?” I say sarcastically. (The paper was only actually 10% of our final mark.. Not too much, but still something for Hermione to worry about.)

“I know, but I do have a reputation to uphold! It’s hard being so brilliant all the time!!” She says winking back at me. We both just laugh as we run the rest of the way down to the library.

“Done!” Hermione exclaims as she drops 5 large and dusty books onto the counter. 

“Have you read all those already?” I mean seriously, we’ve only spent a couple hours in the library, certainly not enough to finish five, 1000 page books!

“Of course not! I only did some light reading. I still have to bring these books upstairs though, for more thorough research.” She says very matter-of-factly. 

I just roll my eyes as we head out of the old, and dusty library. 

We start walking back to the Common Room. Hermione rambling on about Transfiguration, and its vast history. I just keep levitating an old button in my hand, that had fallen off of my book bag. 

Suddenly Hermione’s arm hits me in the chest. “Ouch! What was that for?” I ask, rubbing the sore spot. Well that’ll leave a mark.

I look up to see Hermione’s blank face. Uh oh. 

“The stairs.” She says airily. “They’re frozen.” It was true! The famous Hogwarts moving staircases were frozen in spot. Not moving in the slightest. Even the air was still, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“This isn’t good...” I reply. Soon after, the whole floor quakes. Boom. Boom.   Boom. Boom.   Boom. Boom. 

“Wha-what’s that?” I ask. Hermione and I glance at each other, just as we hear a large crash.

Glass and rubble fall from above.

“MOVE!” Hermione yells. Pushing us both over to the side, away from the falling debris.

“What was that?” I exclaim, shivering all over. Before Hermione can reply, the answer to my question comes running down the stairs. Towards us. Times three.

“Are those?-TROLLS!!” I yells, standing up, and yanking Hermione up with me. 

“Yes, those are in fact Mountain Trolls.” Hermione replies, face white. The gigantic trolls run towards us, bumbling and grumbling to each other; ferocious expressions on their faces. 

With the three mountain trolls aimed towards us, me and Hermione run, run, and run faster.

We sprint down the corridor, Hermione dropping her books. The trolls  keeping their pace behind us, squash them with their gigantic, smelly feet.

Deciding to do something I pull out my wand. 

“Stupify!” I yell, sending a blue spark from the end of my wand, to the knee of a troll. I hear it grunt, stumble, but keep running.

Hermione and I run down corridor after corridor, sending out curses, and hexes. Trying to stop the trolls, who are currently look un-stoppable.

“Quick! In here!” Hermione pulls us into a tiny rock passage, in the side of the corridor. Big enough for us to fit, but too small for the trolls.

The three trolls, come to an abrupt stop. Sniffing around.

“They’re trying to find us!” Hermione whispers. I just nod. Just breathe. Breathe. I tell myself. Everything will be okay. It has to! We’re in Hogwarts for freaks sake.

Suddenly a large round red eye lights up the small passage. 

“AHH!!” Me and Hermione scream! Soon, ugly troll hands are ripping the passage apart.

“Stupify! Reducto! Ugh, why isn’t this working!” Hermione yells in frustration, and terror.

“I know..” I say to myself. I close my eyes, and focus all my fear, frustration, and sadness on the trolls. Then I whip back my wand, and send out a spell. “MITRIGO INFEREDHEM!” I yell. Sending out a loud blast of sparks. 

I open my eyes. No trolls limbs trying to rip us apart. No sounds at all actually. I look to Hermione, who looks shocked, yet relieved.

I crawl out of the passage, and glance into the corridor. There, in the middle of the hall, are three gigantic mountain trolls, lying on the stone floor. Unconscious. But they’re not alone. There in the middle of the corridor, beside the trolls, are three Professors; whose expression rival those of the trolls...