Whatever else Harry might have said was cut short by a blur of bushy brown hair that slammed into his chest hard enough to stagger him.
Hermione’s arms locked around him; her face pressed against his shirt.
Harry froze.
This was the first hug he could ever remember receiving.
“Hermione? Are you all right?” He raised a cautious hand and patted her hair.
She only nodded and tightened her grip.
Warm wetness spread across his stomach—she was sobbing straight through the fabric.
“Neville? You okay?”
“I’m fine. Wand’s broken, but I’m fine. Did you… blow its head off?” Neville’s voice sounded strained, as though he could not decide whether to laugh or cry.
Harry understood the feeling perfectly.
“Yeah. I think I did.”
“Did you mean to?”
“Maybe? I knew it would explode. I didn’t set out to kill it… I just didn’t know what else to do. Is it actually dead?”
“Mr Potter? Mr Longbottom? Miss Granger?” Professor McGonagall’s shocked voice filled the ruined bathroom.
“Is that— How— Are any of you hurt?”
“We’re all right, Professor. Neville’s wand is broken, though.”
“How did this—?” She broke off as a piece of brain dropped from the ceiling and landed an inch in front of her nose.
“What happened to its head?”
“Obviously it struck itself with an errant swing,” Snape drawled as he swept in behind them.
“No it didn’t, sir,” Neville said quietly from the floor, still staring at the corpse.
He rose, collected the two halves of his wand, and moved to stand with Harry and Hermione.
“Harry killed it.” “Impossible,” Snape sneered.
“Mr Potter,” McGonagall said, tearing her gaze from the twitching remains with visible effort, “perhaps you should explain what just occurred.”
“Hermione didn’t know about the troll because she was still in the bathroom. Neville and I came to fetch her, but the troll was already here. It was about to kill her, so Neville distracted it while I fed it my activated Extravagance Rune Show.” Harry looked down, grimacing.
“I didn’t mean to kill it. I designed the cluster to produce bright lights and loud noises—something to scare my cousin if he started on me. I had to base it on Thunder and Explosion runes to make the sequence work at all. An Extinguisher rune cancelled everything, so I removed it. I realised this morning that adding a Soften rune alongside the Extinguisher would make it safe and impressive, but I hadn’t had time to etch the new combination. I knew the thing was still dangerously explosive—that’s why I kept it in my bag. I didn’t want anyone else handling it while it was unstable. I truly didn’t set out to kill the troll. I simply had no other idea.”
Hermione gave him one final squeeze and released him.
She turned to the gathered staff—Professor Babbling had joined them at some point—and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Please don’t punish Harry or Neville. They only came because of me. I’m the one who should be punished. The troll was going to kill me and they did the only thing they could. I’m the one at fault.” Tears threatened again; Harry reached out and took her hand.
Professor Babbling regarded Harry with open awe.
“Mr Potter, am I to understand that you designed an entire rune cluster—fully grasping the interweaves, chained reactions, and inherent complexities—without even completing the final etchings?”
Harry nodded, still looking at the floor.
“One hundred points to Gryffindor for ingenuity, brilliance, and the foresight to keep a potential hazard away from others. Twenty-five points from Gryffindor for carrying that hazard on your person in the presence of classmates.”
Harry’s head snapped up.
The woman was smiling broadly.
“And fifty points to Gryffindor for both of you,” Flitwick added, poking experimentally at the troll’s body, “for racing to the aid of a classmate in mortal danger and prevailing against extraordinary odds.” Snape’s jaw clenched so tightly Harry half expected teeth to shatter.
“Remarkable thinking, Mr Potter. You would do exceptionally well on the duelling circuit, I suspect. Should you ever be interested, come and see me. Oh—and fifteen points from each of you for failing to inform a prefect or teacher that Miss Granger was missing.”
Harry stared.
After the incident in Charms, Flitwick was praising him?
“POTTER!” Snape had finally recovered his voice.
He was practically spitting, face so crimson Harry wondered if the man might actually pass out.
“Detention! Dangerous, forbidden magical constructs are prohibited!”
Harry simply nodded.
For once the punishment was entirely deserved.
Professor Babbling rounded on Snape at once.
“Runic clusters are not forbidden magical constructs! They require care, yes, but if they were ‘forbidden’ you might as well arrest me and my entire NEWT class, Severus!”
“Mr Potter, you will serve that detention with me,” McGonagall said, fixing Snape with a cold glare before turning a far gentler expression on the three students.
“We will discuss the matter of carrying a potential hazard at that time. While I am disappointed you did not seek a senior student or staff member, I do recognise that the troll was not initially reported on this floor.” She paused, voice softening further.
“I have never lost one of my lions, and I am profoundly glad that, because of your actions, I need not revise that record. I am very proud of all three of you.”
Three pairs of jaws dropped, then snapped shut again.