Huffily Puffily || Golden Trio

First Day || xxix

She had not found a magical bear, to her disappointment, but she had run into a particularly grumpy river troll. It was smaller than the last troll she'd seen— although that wasn't much of a comfort. The last troll had been fourteen feet tall. This one was nine feet tall. It had thick, purple fur, and two short horns sprouted out of its head.

Most importantly, it was lumbering toward her, a huge boulder in its hands.

"Only you could have stumbled across a river troll!" Riddle hissed at her. "There isn't even a river!" Lucy paid him no attention; she had to quickly dodge out of the way of the boulder. It smashed into the earth beside her— instead of fear, a great thrill went through her.

"Where's your bridge, loser!" She yelled at the troll.

"Not the time!"

The troll sensed it had been insulted, and it let out a roar louder than before, charging at her. Should she be scared? Nah, if Harry could do it, so could she. She let out a delighted laugh and dodged out of the way at the last moment. The troll hadn't stopped in time, and it smacked against the tree. The trunk creaked and groaned under the troll's weight.

"They're not too bright, are they?" She laughed, darting away from the troll. Riddle watched tersely from the sidelines. He despised every moment of this– he signed up for a peaceful walk through the woods, not fighting a bloody river troll. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Riddle, I was born to fight a troll. Harry did it, Quirrell did it— it's my turn!"

In her distraction, she hadn't noticed the log hurtling in her direction. "Move!" Riddle shouted. She jumped to the side, and the log smashed and splintered against the tree next to her. The pieces of wood shot out, and she felt a sting in her cheek.

"Alright. It's a little more bright," she conceded. As the troll ran at her again, she pivoted and pointed her wand at it, yelling, "Reducto!"

The curse hit the troll in the face, and she watched with morbid fascination as thick, purple blood exploded from its head. The troll was by no means dead, but after that it was certainly blinded. It let out an agonized roar and ran at her, swinging its arms blindly.

"Reducto! Reducto!" More blood. It was still running. Lucy frowned and dodged to the side, racking her brain for a proper spell. The pages of Riddle's Book appeared in her mind, and she remembered a particularly nasty one that had caught her attention. "Segmium Deloro!"

A jet of black light shot out of her wand. It hit the troll in the chest, and instead of a gash appearing right away, it settled in the core of its chest; then, ever so steadily, the gaping wound weaved itself apart. The troll screamed and clutched at its chest, trying to keep itself together, but the curse did its work. She watched, stunned, as the top half of the troll slowly slid off and fell onto the ground.

She stared at it for a few moments. She nudged the body with her foot.

"Well, I didn't know it would do that!"

She guillotined that thing! God, Hagrid would be so disappointed in her.

Riddle stepped forward, examining her handiwork. "The Reductors were a little clumsy, but I'd say your use of the Curse of Tearing was well done!" He sounded pleased, and he looked up to give Lucy a brilliant smile.