Collision Of Worlds: The Crystal Lake

Chapter 17: Troll In The Dungeon

Previously:

A shady figure who had been watching them from afar slowly crept forward, grabbing the book and piece of paper.
"They know too much."

***

Professor Quirrell rushed back to his office, excited and also worried. He had retrieved The Successors Of Merlin, but so had the children. They were learning too fast. He knew his mission - the deadline was tonight. Midnight, exactly. This was his time to shine, to win the trophy. The first plan had been executed; now they had to keep up the good work. Throwing open the door, he slammed down the novel onto his desk.
"Right. Now... where was it?" The worried man started flipping through an old drawer. He pulled out a yellow scroll, and unrolled it.

Sir, we are losing faith in you. You failed to retrieve the stone from Gringotts, the children escaped our clutches... Our next plan is to use the troll . It is hidden in the Forbidden Forest. Our deadline is Halloween, midnight. Good luck.

- Alecto and Amycus Carrow

No, that wasn't it. The siblings were currently hiding at the secret Death Eaters headquarters after the attack on the Hogwarts Express. Everything was spiralling out of control, and they had to take action so the Dark Lord could rise again. He stuffed the letter back into his draw, and hurriedly shuffled them along until he found the one he needed.

Quirrell,

Greetings. I have recently heard that you are the current Dark Lord's host body, as you aid him. Due to this, I feel we should educate you on recent matters. All dark wizards and witches are either hiding their magic, lying low or staying in our stronghold. The most faithful of us here are trying to help the cause as much as we can. We need the Philospher's stone - Dumbledore has it. With it we can fabricate the Elixir Of Life, giving our master a body again. I'm sure you can take it for us. Now, there are two new threats to our kind: Harry Potter is attending Hogwarts, and the children of The Crystal Prophecy will as well. Forget Harry Potter for now - we have plans for him later on. This year we need you to command an attack on the muggle school that the children go to, and bring them back here before they receive a magical education. To do this you must delay the start of the school year. I don't care how you do this, but it must be effective. Once they are in our care, we shall train them as our own and send them to continue the prophecy - thus leading us to what we need. They shall fight against Potter's fate as well; which will lead to the ultimate clash and our victory. Do not fail us or the Dark Lord. We will help you when the time comes.

- Barty Crouch Jr.

Quirrell couldn't complete his first missions, and now they had set him a new task: bring a mountain troll to the dungeon as he attempts to steal the Philosopher's stone. Hopefully, it would also injure the Crystal children in the process - delaying their discoveries. Even better: it would also affect Harry Potter... now that would be killing two birds with one stone. There was a knock at the door. The professor scrambled to hide everything, and then let the person in.
"Hello, Quirinus. How are you this evening?" Snape entered his office, looking as stern as usual.
"G-good. What about you, S-severus?" He stuttered back.
"Very fine. Are you attending the feast?" The Potions master's mouth curled up, almost as if he was smiling. Smiling with a cold, dead and slightly bitter expression.
"No. I-I think I'll just st-tay in - not f-f-feeling too goo-od."
"Too bad! We'll miss you." He swept out of the room. After waiting for a bit, the stammering man snuck outside to find his mountain troll.

***

"It's the girl's bathroom!" Tom shouted. He was ahead of everyone.
"You can't go in there!" Hannah squealed.
"Why not? No one uses it." Parker shrugged.
"Guys, that's just weird." Ruby remarked, catching up to them.
"Who cares? Someone's in trouble!" Tom ran in. "Don't follow me, I want to do this on my own!"
"What's he doing?" Dahlia asked, approaching them.
"Running into the girl's bathroom. Apparently the scream came from there." Amy turned to face her friend.
"Well, how about we go join the others in the hall again?" Terrence suggested.
"Yes! That would be great. After a long, stressful time of raiding the library - food and friends is just what I need." Evan sighed, his shoulders sagging. Dragging his feet along to the hall, he shouted.
"Aha! You Death Eaters can't touch us now!"
The group chuckled and followed him back.
"There you are, Hannah! Susan has been keeping your treats safe." Justin Finch-Fletchley welcomed her back. "Hello Ruby! Where'd you guys go?" Lukas gestured to the few empty seats near him. Susan Bones and Justin sat next to them.
"Oh... nowhere." Hannah smiled. They looked at each other, and immediately grabbed sweets.
"Wait... where's Harry, Ron and Hermione? And Snape is gone too..." Amy furrowed her brow as they returned to the Gryffindor table.
"Exactly. Where is everybody running off to? And why weren't we invited?" Parker joked.
"That, my friend, is why." She pointed to the clear destruction Ron had made all over the table. Wrappers, candles, plates and leftovers were arranged everywhere there was space. Parker glanced over at the Slytherin table, happy to see Dahlia talking to Stella.
"So, you know my brother?" The girl asked in her mysterious voice.
"Yup. He seems like the opposite of you, but also not. I mean, lots of your traits are completely different... but it's very obvious you are related." Dahlia chewed on a chicken leg.
"Ah! There he is." Stella pointed at her twin with a fork.
"Hey Evan, Terrence." Cosmo greeted them.
"Hello Cosmo!" Evan smiled.
"We saw your sister in the corridor earlier today." Terrence took a sip from his goblet.
"Oh... that's why she left. We had just sat down to the feast and she got up. I've got no idea why she does that. Stella must've seen you while she was coming back here." The blonde boy explained. There was a faint sound of feet, pattering towards the hall.
"Can you hear that?" Lukas asked his fellow Hufflepuffs. Suddenly, Professor Quirrell ran through the large doors. "TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON! T-TROOLLL IN THE DUNGEON!" Everything went dead silent. "Thought you ought to know." He collapsed on the floor. There were a few seconds of calm before the storm. Students started screaming and running.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore shouted. "Everyone will please, not panic. Now, Prefects will lead their houses back to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."
"HOLD ON. THE SLYTHERIN DORMITORY IS IN THE DUNGEON!" The entire house was synchronised in protesting. The professors ignored them.

***

"Parker... Tom, Harry, Ron and Hermione haven't come back yet! What if the troll gets them?!" Amy worried about their friends as they returned to the common rooms.
"Tom's good with magic - so's Harry. Ron should have enough energy to run after eating all that food. And since when has Hermione needed help with anything?" He replied.
"The Slytherins are heading right into the troll's path."
"As much as I hate to say it, they've got Draco. He's still exceptional at spells. Dahlia, too." Parker admitted his enemy's abilities.
"Sure... wait. I gotta go!" Amy left the line heading back to the Gryffindor dorms. She ran, blindly in search for her best friends. Down the steps, deep into the dungeons. After a while of running - turning sharp corners, barging past people - she finally found her.
"DAHLIA! YOU'VE GOT TO COME WITH ME, NOW." She grabbed her friend, launching into a run again. Dahlia followed without question. They didn't have to go far until they saw the Hufflepuffs.
"RUBY! HERE, NOW!" Amy screamed with the last breath the had. They all followed the energetic Gryffindor, who was bolting it to the nearest castle exit.

***

Busting open the door, she stopped. Crickets chirped, owls hooted. The stars twinkled, adorning the deep blue sky.
"Here." Her voice travelled with the gentle wind.
"Why are we here?" Dahlia felt she had to whisper, as to not disturb the peace.
"You'll see."
The girls slowly made their way down the green hill, hands gently brushing the blooming flowers. The dewy grass gently swayed as they stepped through it. In front of them, a forest stood tall and proud. The trees looked dark and ominous from afar. After a few minutes in silence, just walking - Amy finally stopped.
"Stay here." She signalled, taking a few more steps forward and smiling.
"Okay. Come here, and look at that." Ruby and Dahlia glanced at each other, and did as she said. They gasped in awe. Beneath the rolling hills in the distance was a large lake, reflecting something. Looking up, they saw it. The moon looked beautiful - like a perfect pearl, illuminating the night. Each star was shining brighter than before. The quiet buzzing of insects set a calm atmosphere, one of reflection and happiness. A gentle breeze blew their hair, tickling the back of Dahlia's neck. Her hair had come undone as they ran. She smiled. Ruby suddenly sat down, kneeling on the floor. It was a perfect place to watch the nighttime. Amy did the same, sighing in delight. The Slytherin girl followed, a grin on her face.
"You see why I brought you here?" Amy's voice was soft and soothing.
"Of course." Ruby spoke as if she was in heaven.
"The calm during the storm." Dahlia said.
"Looking at the night sky, or any pretty scenery, helps when you are stressed or scared." Amy stroked the grass, picking up a drop of dew. She rubbed if off, and lay fully down.
"Count the stars, guys." Dahlia copied her. Ruby stretched out, her hair getting tangled with a flower.
"Let's stay here for a bit. Please."

***

Hey guys!

Thank you for nearly 600 reads! It's awesome! As usual - please vote, comment and follow. Team AquariusNinjaCat are so strong right now! We're really happy. Thank you so much.

Your authors 🐮

aquarius_cat

And

Tinybigninga123