The Song in the Underground Classroom

Let's return to the present.

When Professor Quirrell shouted "Troll in the basement!" in the Great Hall, the Halloween party was canceled. All the students returned to the house's common room under the guidance of their prefects, and the professors left to prepare for dealing with the troll.

As first-year students, Harry and Ron were also among the bustling crowd heading back to their dormitories.

Percy Weasley, the Gryffindor prefect, naturally walked at the front. Beneath his flamboyant red hair was a serious face and expression, along with the subtle pride of being a prefect.

"Follow me, don't get separated, first-years!" he said to Harry and the others as he pushed open the Great Hall doors. "As long as you follow my orders, you have nothing to fear from trolls. Alright, stick close behind me. Exit, first-years need to pass!"

"Please forgive me, I am the prefect!"

Percy pushed through the throng of students from various houses and led the first-year wizards out.

To be honest, one of the best decisions the Hogwarts professors ever made was making Percy a prefect. Because with just a title, he'd be incredibly motivated and perform his duties flawlessly.

Harry and Ron followed closely behind him.

They didn't seem to mind going back to the common room early, after all, they had already eaten three or four plates of chicken and two bowls of mashed potatoes at the banquet.

Harry asked, somewhat puzzled, "What exactly are trolls? How can they get in here?"

"Trolls, as the name suggests, are magical creatures that are exceptionally large and incredibly stupid," Percy said from the front. "They generally have tough skin and a tall stature, and are very aggressive. The Ministry of Magic classifies them as XXXX, meaning they are somewhat dangerous, but skilled wizards can handle them."

"There's also an oil painting on the eighth floor depicting a giant beating up Barnabas; you can go see it if you're curious."

"I'm not sure if there are any trolls in the Forbidden Forest. After all, nobody knows what's in there. But if there are, the trolls probably got in through one of the school doors that wasn't closed properly. Maybe Peeves let it in. He hasn't played any pranks in a long time, so he might be planning something big."

As Percy spoke, he led them around a corner, heading back towards the Gryffindor Tower.

Harry nodded, seemingly understanding.

The surrounding crowd was still chaotic, as other students from the four houses were also waiting to return to the common room, and the prefects were finding it difficult to maintain sufficient order.

But just as they squeezed through the corridor, their group suddenly bumped into a professor walking in their direction—Victor.

Professor Victor seemed to be in a good mood; his usual aloof demeanor had softened, as if he had encountered something satisfying. Harry also noticed something whitish shimmering inside his cloak.

Before Harry could even see what it was, Victor's cloak, which had been swung loose as he walked, stopped abruptly and then fell back down.

He glanced at the students crowding the auditorium entrance and called to Percy and the others:

"What's going on here? Is the banquet over?"

"It's over, Professor," Percy stopped immediately and answered formally.

"A troll has appeared in the underground classroom. Professor Dumbledore wants us prefects to take the students back to the common room immediately. The professors will also go and deal with the troll."

"Troll? That can't be right," Victor tilted his head in confusion. "I just came back from the basement a while ago. Professor Quirrell was there then. He said he would keep an eye on that side."

"Professor Quirrell actually discovered the troll, but he doesn't seem to have dealt with it."

"so."

Victor nodded, paused for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought. His gaze drifted towards the auditorium, preparing to part ways with Percy and the others.

But before he left, Percy suddenly asked again:

"Have you seen Hermione, Professor? I heard she ran away earlier, but I haven't seen her around here."

“…Miss Granger,” Victor paused for a moment before saying, “she did seem to have gone to the underground classrooms. I ran into her by the stairs just now; she wasn’t in a good mood and was probably going to the restroom to clean herself up.”

Percy's expression changed slightly, but Victor didn't seem worried, speaking calmly as if he were discussing any changes to tonight's dinner. However, despite Percy's anxious gaze, he still said:

"Don't worry, I'm going to meet up with the other professors now. We'll find her soon."

After saying that, Victor simply nodded and strode away.

.......

When Victor left, he paid no attention to Harry and Ron behind Percy, nor did he notice the sudden change in their expressions.

The moment he said Hermione was in the basement, Ron started nervously fidgeting with his hands, while Harry anxiously peered towards the basement steps.

How could the professor react so calmly?

Hermione was with a troll—a troll!

Those XXXX-level creatures could put her life in danger!

Only after Victor disappeared around the corner of the Great Hall did Ron bite his lip and say, "Hermione, we have to go find her."

His expression looked somewhat pale, but his tone was very firm.

"She probably doesn't know about this yet, and the professors won't be able to go down and rescue her for a while, but by then she might already be injured. I'm not saying you absolutely have to come with me—I mean—well, I was the one who upset her."

“No problem, Ron,” Harry readily agreed. “Let’s go down and look for her. If she’s in the bathroom, the troll shouldn’t notice her.”

"All we need to do is call her out."

"You're right... but it's best to go this way and not let Percy see us."

They crouched low and quickly blended into the Hufflepuff crowd beside them, then headed down a corridor in another direction. They slipped quietly through an empty side corridor and hurried downstairs. But just as they turned the corner, they heard rapid footsteps behind them.

"It could be Percy!"

Ron lowered his voice and pulled Harry behind a large griffin sculpture.

They looked out from behind the stone sculpture, but instead of Percy, it was Snape who appeared.

Snape, a chilling yet triumphant smile on his face, strode down the corridor and disappeared from their sight. Harry and Ron stealthily followed him from behind the stone statue, only to find him heading in another direction from the underground classrooms.

"What do you think he's doing?" Harry asked in a low voice. "Why isn't he with the other professors, dealing with the trolls in the underground classrooms?"

"How should I know?" Ron shook his head. "But he seemed to be heading towards the spiral staircase to the fourth floor."

The two watched Snape's figure disappear from sight, only turning away regretfully when he was completely out of sight—as students who were routinely tormented by Snape, they were eager to uncover his little secret.

But they still remembered why they came down.

Just as they were about to turn back, Ron suddenly said, "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

Harry didn't immediately understand what he was talking about.

But he soon found out.

That's not a troll.

As Harry turned and approached the wall, he heard a melodious and clear song. The lyrics were somewhat indistinct due to the distance, but the female voice was still remarkably soft and clear.

Harry couldn't bear to leave once he heard that unique singing voice.

Without needing to communicate with Ron, they spontaneously began to feel their way in the direction from which the singing was coming.

The two turned a corner and entered the center of the dimly lit underground classroom. As they walked, the singing gradually became clearer. The uniquely magnetic voice was singing a melody neither of them had ever heard before.

As Harry and his friends approached, the female voice was singing—

They will stroll together; they will run together;

Sitting on the beach watching the sunset;

How I wish I could be a part of that world!

But I don't know how I can leave these waters;

I don't know what I should give to spend this day on the beach with everyone.

The woman's soft, high-pitched voice drew Harry and Ron further in until they reached the door of a bathroom. The door wasn't closed properly; it was ajar.

The singing came from there.

As they got closer, Harry couldn't resist gently pushing the door so they could clearly see the scene in the center of the bathroom—

Directly opposite them is a mirror that spans the pool, where the Hogwarts witches often like to groom themselves.

At that very moment, a witch was doing the same thing. She gently combed her fluffy brown hair with one hand, looked at herself in the mirror, and continued to sing in a clear, melodious voice.

"...Leaving the sea, I hope I can become..."

"...a part of that world..."

Her voice had a strange allure, drawing you in. Harry couldn't resist peeking into the bathroom, trying to figure out who it was.

The door slid open a little further, revealing the witch's reflection in the mirror...

With her large front teeth, brown eyes, and fluffy hair, that's Hermione.

That's Hermione?!

As Harry stared in disbelief, he noticed something extra in front of Hermione's cloak.

A shimmering golden conch necklace.