Hermione's Transformation

When a giant appeared in the corridor of the underground classroom, it was a spectacular sight. The entire corridor was filled with its enormous gray body, and a strong stench filled the air, causing Harry and Ron to cough as they ran away.

But they didn't dare to stop for a moment and rushed into the women's restroom.

"The key's in the lock! Lock the door!" Harry shouted as soon as he came in.

"Is it necessary? The troll wouldn't even know how to open the door, would it?"

Ron complained.

However, he quickly locked the door, pulled out the key, and slammed the door shut before the giant could get close.

"call!"

Ron breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly took a few steps back, away from the doorway.

The three people standing in the women's restroom were still somewhat shaken. Although two of them were boys, they couldn't care less about that now. Harry's chest heaved as he stood by the sink, while Hermione's face turned deathly pale, her eyes fixed on the doorway.

That's... a troll?

Those particularly belligerent giants that often cause injury or death to wizards?

She bit her lip, watching nervously as the locked door trembled under the giant's footsteps.

Before long, the heavy footsteps grew closer, accompanied by a rumbling groan and the sound of huge feet dragging on the ground.

Then, a moment of silence fell over everything.

The three of them huddled in place, barely daring to breathe.

"..."

"..."

Time passed second by second, and the giant seemed not to have seen them at all, and the outside returned to deathly silence.

"Is it gone?" Harry couldn't help but ask in a whisper.

The next second—

"Bang!"

With a few stomping sounds, the wooden door of the bathroom was hit violently, and cracks appeared almost instantly.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The door was slammed two or three more times, and the plaster on the wall next to it fell off in a rustling sound. Even the door latch was knocked off and fell down with a clatter!

It will only take one or two more hits before the door collapses.

Realizing this, Ron and Harry turned pale and became completely flustered. Hermione, in particular, shuddered with each impact, wanting to scream—

"...We need to get behind the pool quickly."

Hermione's face was deathly pale, but her clear voice remained as steady and composed as ever, leaving even herself stunned.

But the sound didn't stop there; it continued to emerge the next time she opened her mouth.

"Ron, Harry, you two run to the side cubicle. I'll hide behind the pool. The troll will see me when it comes in, but it will definitely be stopped by the pool while chasing me, which will create a gap in its movement when it smashes the pool."

"The three of us must take this opportunity to use magic together."

"Use magic together?" Ron asked, somewhat taken aback. "But we don't know any magic at all!"

"You will," Hermione said, her voice firm despite her trembling. "Remember the Levitation Charm we learned this afternoon? As long as you get the wrist trembling right and draw out the 'plus' sound, you'll be able to cast the spell successfully."

"This is our only...our only chance."

"Hermione is right."

After a while, Harry's expression also became firm.

"I'll also play the evil spells I learned before. As long as we distract the troll and buy time, even if we can't escape, we'll definitely be able to hold out until the professors arrive."

"...Okay, let's do it this way!"

Ron gritted his teeth and agreed.

He and Harry exchanged a glance, then immediately stood up, preparing to find a cubicle to hide in on either side.

But after running a couple of steps, Ron found Hermione still sitting there, her face so pale she looked like she was about to faint.

"Hey Hermione, don't worry, we'll do what you say, and I'll definitely get out of here!"

Ron ran over and pulled her up from the ground.

Although he was a little puzzled as to why Hermione sounded so panicked, he simply assumed that she was putting on a brave face – there was nothing to be ashamed of, he and Harry were scared too.

That's a monster! It's ramming the door!

If they were hit on the head with a hammer, they might not make it to St. Mungo's!

That really can kill you!

In that time, they might become the first students in Hogwarts history to die from a troll attack.

Hermione was forcibly pulled up by Ron. She still looked flustered, but she finally came to her senses.

Her mouth opened slightly, and a soft sound escaped:

"...Thank you, please go ahead, I can manage."

Ron nodded to her, then quickly ran behind an open door panel next to her and hid behind it. Meanwhile, Harry found a spot a few feet away, took a deep breath, and raised his wand.

But what they didn't know was that Hermione felt her teeth chattering.

She was scared.

From childhood to adulthood, she had never encountered a situation that required fighting, let alone such a life-threatening situation. She had excellent grades, so no one had ever bullied her, and her parents would never put her in danger.

but……

She looked down at the conch shell on her chest, trembling. The golden light on the conch shell was still flickering, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, as if it were alive.

"I can do it."

Thinking of what the conch shell had just said on her behalf, Hermione's mind, which had been racing, finally calmed down a bit.

Yes, she knows the Levitation Charm, as well as the Polymorph and Burning Charms. She's tried them at home and hasn't failed yet. She needs to think, really think about how to use them effectively...

Hermione took a few deep breaths and nervously gripped her wand.

……

"boom!"

Seconds later, with the troll's next ramming, the rickety wooden door of the women's restroom was smashed open completely. Broken planks flew out and scattered all around.

The troll's enormous, foul-smelling body appeared in the bathroom, almost completely obscuring the candlelight.

Sure enough, after entering, the troll's tiny head turned towards Hermione Granger, who was huddled in the opposite corner. It then began to move its rough, hard-skinned feet toward her.

As it walked, it bumped into the pool, causing it to break off from the wall. Broken stones blocked its path.

It lowered its little head, looked at the large pebbles below, and stomped on them with its foot—instantly, the pebbles were crushed into pieces like tofu.

Hermione then opened her mouth and spoke:

"Now!"

The three of them raised their wands—

"Flames are raging!"

"Yugardim Leviosa!"

"A dragon has emerged from its cave!"