With a single wave of her wand, Professor McGonagall transformed the rubble and wooden splinters on the floor into thick ropes, binding the troll before it could even react.
With a loud crash, the monster collapsed onto the ground.
Evidently, the troll’s brain—scarcely larger than a coconut—could not fathom what was happening.
It roared in fury and struggled frantically, but the ropes created by McGonagall’s Transfiguration were not something a bound troll could break free from.
“What in the world were you thinking?!” Professor McGonagall’s bellow followed immediately after.
“Good evening, Professor,” Kyle said with a slight bow.
“G-Good evening…” “Professor…” “G-Good eb-ning…” The three kids greeted her as well.
The little redhead, who seemed to have split his lip when he fell earlier, cupped his mouth and mumbled unclearly.
Professor McGonagall looked at them, her lips white with anger.
The kids had clearly never seen her this furious before.
Before Professor McGonagall could interrogate them further, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Sprout hurried into the room one after another, making the once-spacious girls’ bathroom suddenly feel rather crowded.
Kyle noticed that after the other professors entered, Professor Snape slipped inside silently, with Professor Quirrell right on his heels.
Quirrell, coming in last, took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimpering sob, sank onto a toilet, and clutched tightly at his chest.
Professor Snape cast a cold glance at Kyle before fixing Potter with a deadly glare.
“As expected of the famous Savior.
Evidently, a mundane school life cannot satisfy your craving for the spotlight, so you decided to bring your sidekick along to challenge a troll?” “And you, Mr.
Shafiq—it seems you, too, have thrown yourself into the Savior’s arms and become one of his little cronies?” “You old—” “Of course not, Professor!” Before the red-haired Weasley could finish his thoughtless retort, the young girl cut him off.
“Please don’t blame them, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me.” “Miss Granger!” Hermione finally forced herself to stand up.
“I came looking for the troll because I—I thought I could handle it on my own…
You know, because I’ve read all about them in books and knew a lot about them.” Kyle stood with his hands folded behind his back, inwardly scoffing at Miss Granger’s lie.
He had heard Potter explicitly state earlier that Granger was crying in the girls’ bathroom and had no idea about the troll.
Weasley lowered his wand.
He and Potter tried their best to look as if this were the story they had agreed upon all along.
“If they hadn’t found me, I’d definitely be dead by now.
Harry drew the troll’s attention and made it furious, so it kept chasing him.
Ron tried hard to distract it, but the troll was completely focused on Harry.
They didn’t have time to go for help.
When they arrived, the troll was just about to swallow me whole!” As she spoke, the girl threw a grateful look toward Kyle.
“It was this gentleman from Slytherin…” “Kyle.
Kyle Shafiq,” Kyle introduced himself to the girl with a pleasant smile.
“…It was Mr.
Shafiq who arrived just in time and saved Harry.” “Oh—if that is the case,” Professor McGonagall murmured, gazing at them thoughtfully.
“Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think you could deal with a mountain troll all by yourself?” Then she turned to Kyle, her tone softening considerably.
“Well then, Mr.
Shafiq, could you explain why you were here?” “That’s quite an interesting story, Professor,” Kyle said, casting a mischievous glance at the three kids.
Granger and Potter both stared at Kyle with pleading eyes, practically screaming with their glances, *Help us, please help us!* Only the little redhead seemed a bit slow on the uptake, secretly reaching down to pick up a loose brick.
Secretly rolling his eyes, Kyle smiled and said to the professor, “I happened to see three little lions…
er, three Gryffindors…” Seeing Professor McGonagall frown, Kyle quickly corrected himself.
“I saw three Gryffindors walking this way, and out of curiosity, I followed them.” “I must praise their courage and friendship, Professor—even though the process was full of recklessness and sheer foolishness…
Ahem…
right, Professor, I’ll get to the point.
Though the three brats seemed to completely forget that they were wizards, overall, their spirit is commendable.” Kyle felt his summary was spot on, though neither the three kids nor Professor McGonagall seemed particularly pleased.
Only Professor Snape nodded in strong agreement.
*As expected, my own Head of House is the most supportive!* Seeing the little redhead pick up the brick he had just set down, Kyle raised an eyebrow.
*This kid sure has nerve.
How long has it been since anyone provoked me like this?
Is this redheaded brat addicted to picking fights with me?
Is this the second time or the third?
It’s about time I put my plan to mess with his older brothers into action,* Kyle thought, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the boy.
“Mr.
Shafiq, thank you for your commentary, though it doesn’t quite explain why you were here.
I believe your story is the one we are most eager to hear,” Dumbledore interjected before Professor McGonagall could press further.
“Exactly!
You sly, evil Slytherin, what were you doing sneaking behind us?
Did you let the troll in?!” the little redhead yelled indignantly, stomping his feet.
Though Potter said nothing, his expression showed he agreed completely.
Upon hearing this, both Professor McGonagall and Granger looked deeply embarrassed, the professor’s eye twitching slightly.
*It seems there really aren’t many Gryffindors with actual brains.* “Ahem…
First, thank you to Mr.
Weasley for that brilliant speech.
However, before you speak, I hope you remember that I was the one who saved Potter.” “I was merely curious as to how a troll managed to wander into Hogwarts—a place touted as the safest and most heavily protected location around.
After all, I still have to live here for three and a half years, so I naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it for my own peace of mind.” Dumbledore clearly picked up on Kyle’s evasiveness, but he said nothing of it, merely replying, “Of course, Mr.
Shafiq.
Hogwarts is always the safest place.
This was merely an accident—a professor’s test specimen escaped.
You may rest assured and continue your studies and life here at Hogwarts.” “Furthermore, Mr.
Shafiq, won’t you introduce us to this oval little cabin?
It seems to be the very thing that protected Harry.” Clearly, Old Dumbledore was far more intrigued by this unfamiliar device, smiling pleasantly at Kyle.
“My pleasure, Professor.” Kyle gave a slight bow to the professors.
Dumbledore adopted an attentive posture and gestured for him to proceed.
Professor Snape, on the other hand, looked thoroughly impatient, glaring coldly at Potter.
“This is part of my latest research, Professor.
In fact, I hope to eventually provide one for every young wizard, as the troll has just demonstrated its outstanding defensive capabilities,” Kyle explained with a warm, elegant smile.
With today’s defense module successfully tanking a troll’s attack—plus the publicity gimmick of saving the Savior from being smashed into meat paste—Kyle was confident he wouldn’t have to worry about finding a market for his toy puppets.