Everything Black | Harry Potter

9. Hullabaloo

There was an uproar and, in the chaos, Harry and Draco's eyes met and a message passed between them. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy 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?" Neville asked as they climbed the stairs.

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

Harry wasn't paying attention. They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions and as they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry ducked into an alcove, dragging Ron and Neville by their robes.

"What are you-?"

Harry waited until the last person had left the corridor and said, "we're going to fix you're mistake."

Ron looked startled. "What mistake?"

"Hermione."

"What about her?" asked Neville, concerned in that sweet way of his.

"She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron paled, and he and Neville exchanged looks of pure horror.

"Okay," he said shakily. "But don't let Percy see us."

Ducking out, they waited until they could join the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Prefect!" hissed Neville, pulling Harry and Ron behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view. Neville was quivering.

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

"Doesn't matter," Harry dismissed, hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with we-suspect-Snape-is-behind-every-wrong-in-the-world after this. "Let's just get going.

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.

Neville held up his hand.

"C-can you smell something?"

Harry sniffed and a familiar foul stench reached his nostrils, the mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.

And then they 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. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.

It was as horrible a sight as the first time. Twelve feet tall, skin a dull, granite grey, 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.

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," Ron muttered. "We could lock it in."