The moment Sherlock saw the troll, descriptive text rapidly surfaced in his mind:
[Trolls are native to Scandinavia, but can now be found in Britain, Ireland, and other Nordic regions]
[They prefer raw meat but are not picky about prey, capturing everything from wild animals to humans, with a particular fondness for fish]
[Their behavior is extremely violent, often attacking without provocation]
[Based on appearance and habitat, they can be divided into three varieties: mountain trolls, forest trolls, and river trolls]
[Mountain trolls are the largest and most dangerous]
Both "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" from the first-year required reading and "The Survival Guide in Desperate Situations" that Sherlock had purchased out of interest contained information about trolls.
The former was more academic, heavy on theory. The latter was based on the author's personal experience—no theory, all practical knowledge.
Sherlock quickly retrieved this information from his memory palace.
Unfortunately, what appeared before him and Hermione was the most troublesome variety: a mountain troll.
"People's physical conditions cannot be generalized. I once defeated a mountain troll with just a sword while in a state of extreme rage. Unfortunately, troll protein content is very low—less than one-sixth that of beef—making them unsuitable for consumption even with the head removed. For those reading this book, my advice is to avoid direct confrontation unless absolutely necessary. Unless you are a powerful wizard or possess physical strength like mine."
After seeing this troll in person, Sherlock deeply empathized with that author's assessment.
Therefore, he immediately covered Hermione's mouth and dragged her out of the girls' bathroom.
If this had happened on an ordinary day, Hermione certainly wouldn't have cooperated. But the current Hermione was tired and hungry—not an exaggeration to say she had cried herself dry of tears. So, when she encountered Sherlock, she truly submitted to whatever he did.
As for the troll, it stopped by a door and peered inside. After a while, probably not finding its target, it finally made a difficult decision with its small brain.
Under Sherlock and Hermione's watchful eyes, the troll that had broken into the dungeons slowly turned and left on its flat, hard, calloused feet.
"Though the acting is crude, it's more intelligent than I imagined," Sherlock muttered to himself, watching the troll's retreating figure.
Hermione finally recovered from her shock. She quietly removed Sherlock's hand from her mouth, straightened up, and smoothed her clothes.
Hearing Sherlock's words, she asked in confusion, "What did you say?"
"Someone's coming," Sherlock replied, not answering her question but pointing to the side and once again pulling Hermione into hiding.
Having been extremely tense moments before, Hermione hadn't felt anything when Sherlock dragged her away, but now she couldn't help feeling somewhat awkward.
However, the next moment, her attention was captured by a suddenly appearing figure—their Potions professor and Head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape.
Watching him cross the corridor and disappear from view, Hermione couldn't help asking: "Professor Snape? Why is he here alone? Shouldn't everyone be in the Great Hall celebrating Halloween? And Sherlock, why did you come here to find me?"
Once she returned to normal, Hermione's sharp intelligence reclaimed the high ground, and a string of questions tumbled out.
"We'll discuss these matters later," Sherlock said, not wanting to explain right now. His gaze turned to the side. "First, let's call those two over."
"What are you talking about?" Hermione didn't understand at first.
"Oh, dear Hermione," Sherlock turned to look at her, his eyes holding a hint of amusement, "if you had observed carefully enough, you should have noticed there are two more people over there."
Following Sherlock's indicated direction, Hermione was surprised to discover two heads slowly emerging from behind a large griffin statue.
One was the very person responsible for nearly trapping her here—Ron Weasley. The other was naturally Ron's best friend, Harry Potter.
When Harry and Ron first saw the troll's massive body, they were both stunned. They held their breath, not daring to make a sound, fearing the troll might hear them.
After finally waiting for the troll to leave, they heard movement behind them. Thinking Percy had followed them; they quickly hid behind the nearby griffin statue. Instead, they saw Snape.
Harry immediately whispered to Ron beside him, "Why isn't he with the other teachers? What's he doing in the dungeons?"
"How should I know!" Ron seemed irritated. He was, after all, a good person. Though he had spoken harshly to Hermione today, he had never intended to harm her. Now, thinking that Hermione might encounter the troll because of him, he felt both guilty and regretful.
"He's heading toward the fourth floor," Harry said, his attention still on Snape. After all, the fourth floor was the forbidden area Dumbledore had specifically mentioned.
Ron raised his hand for silence. "Harry, we came to find..."
Before he could finish, a voice interrupted him.
"I suggest you not focus your energy on him."
"Sherlock!" When Harry saw Sherlock, he was overjoyed—that feeling of finding his anchor again was indescribable.
As for Ron, he immediately noticed Hermione standing beside Sherlock. He couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief: "Sherlock, you really did come to save her!"
Strangely, when Ron saw Hermione standing safely beside Sherlock, he suddenly had a very subtle thought: It would have been good if I had been the one to save her.
The moment this thought occurred, Ron was startled by himself. Damn, how could he think such a thing? The most important thing was that Granger was safe! He probably wanted to rescue her personally because he was the one who had caused her trouble, right? Yes, that must be it!
"Well, something like that," Sherlock nodded. "Also to verify one of my deductions."
"What deduction? By the way, did you see the troll just now?"
"Of course," Sherlock said, looking into the distance with increasingly profound eyes. He turned to Harry and Ron. "I'm going to continue following it. Do you want to come along?"
"Let's go, let's go!"
Now that Hermione was safe, the adventurous spirit in all of them immediately stirred. Following a professor who served as a Head of House—just thinking about it was thrilling!
"It? Not him?" Only Hermione noticed Sherlock's choice of pronoun.
"Hermione, you've spotted the key point," Sherlock smiled at her approvingly. "It is 'it.'"
Only then did Harry and Ron catch on. "Wait, aren't we following Snape?"
"No, the troll."
"What?" Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stared wide-eyed.
"Don't look at me like that," Sherlock said calmly. "If my deduction is correct, what comes next is the crucial part... Are you still coming?"
"Of course!" Though they found Sherlock's current behavior somewhat inexplicable, the three companions chose without hesitation to follow him.
You can read more chapters on:
patreon.com/MikeyMuse