Chapter 82: Deliberate or Accidental

Dali crossed the corridor, hurrying toward the area on the right side of the Fourth Floor.

"Quirrell has already found a way to get past the three‑headed dog?"

Dali thought to himself.

That three‑headed dog is very powerful, being a Magic creature, and it resists ordinary Magic, so inflicting lethal damage on it is not that easy.

Of Course, if this were elsewhere one could simply cast powerful Magic to force the outcome, but this is at Hogwarts; if a big commotion draws the attention of Professor Dengbulido and others, then stealing the Philosopher's Stone is one thing, but even surviving the exit becomes a problem.

"De Si Li, why are you in such a hurry, what are you going to do?"

A gloomy voice appeared, speaking slowly.

Dali's body froze, his expression stiff as he looked toward the adjacent corridor.

Professor Sineipu appeared there at an unknown time, walking toward Dali.

"Professor Sineipu."

Dali gave a greeting.

"First‑year freshmen should be in the dormitory now; you didn't follow the Grade Leader back, yet you ran to the Fourth Floor—what are you doing?"

Sineipu squinted slightly, his black eyes fixed on Dali as if trying to see through him.

"Hold on, you aren't planning to go to the Forbidden Area on the Fourth Floor, are you?"

Sineipu glanced at the nearby corridor, seeming to understand something.

A cold smile appeared on his face.

"This time, I'll see how you argue."

Dali's thought shifted slightly, and he immediately said,

"Professor Sineipu, I merely stumbled onto this spot; you know the stairs here shift. I was just passing through on my way to the Gryffindor Tower," Dali said, wearing an innocent expression.

"Oh? Deliberate or accidental?" Sineipu snorted coldly.

"Accidental," Dali insisted.

"After all, I didn't go down that corridor, did I? If Professor Sineipu wants to catch me off guard next time, remember to wait until I've passed by before you seize me."

Sineipu's expression grew somewhat gloomy.

"By the way, I just saw Professor Quirrell looking flustered as he headed that way; perhaps he ran to the wrong place in his haste. Would you like to check on him?"

"Professor Quirrell?"

Sineipu's face changed instantly.

"Are you sure you saw him?"

"It was him, indeed; after all, that scarf belongs to no one else, so he's easy to recognize," Dali said.

"You'd better not be lying!"

Sineipu didn't even have time to deduct points from Gryffindor; he turned and sprinted toward that corridor.

"It seems Sineipu has spotted a problem with Quirrell; otherwise he wouldn't be so frantic. Or perhaps he appeared here specifically to block Quirrell, and just happened to run into me."

Dali watched Sineipu's silhouette fade and guessed in his mind,

"That's convenient; it saves me the trouble."

Having Sineipu block Quirrell is far better than doing it himself; it even saves the step of reporting.

Dali stopped worrying about the Philosopher's Stone, thought for a moment, and headed downstairs, intending to join Harry and the others in the dormitory.

Behind a statue not far away.

Ma Er Fu's expression was extremely sour.

"How did Professor Sineipu show up at this moment? If he had appeared later, once Dali reached the Forbidden Area, he could have been expelled outright."

Ma Er Fu said angrily.

Gao Er, seeing this, let out a slight sigh of relief and said, "Looks like we can't catch him this time; let's go back."

"Wait, he went downstairs; he didn't return to the dormitory."

Seeing this, the previously Regretful Ma Er Fu's eyes lit up, as if hope had returned.

"Come, follow him."

Ma Er Fu wasn't willing to give up the chance; he was determined to catch Dali violating school rules.

Ke La Bu and Gao Er exchanged a helpless glance and could only follow.

At this moment, the castle was nearly empty; everyone had returned to their dormitories, and the corridors were deserted, not a soul in sight.

Dali headed straight for the girls' bathroom underground.

But as soon as he reached the lower level, a foul stench hit his nose.

"It rivals the massive poop from last time."

Dali frowned.

It was clearly the scent of a Giant Monster, though Dali hadn't expected it to be so foul.

It smelled like months‑old dirty socks mixed with the uncleaned public bathroom odor, making one wish to instantly lose the sense of smell.

Dali turned a corner and saw the end of the corridor, where Harry and Luoen were hiding behind a statue, and near a doorway not far from them, the Giant Monster was slowly entering.

The scene looked terrifying.

The Giant Monster stood twelve feet tall, its skin dull and lifeless, gray like granite.

Its massive, cumbersome body was like a heap of huge rocks, topped with a cocoa‑bean‑sized head, looking terribly incongruous.

Its thick legs resembled tree trunks, ending in flat, cocoon‑like feet. It gripped a thick wooden staff that scraped the floor, producing a dull scraping sound.

The instant the Giant Monster entered the room, Dali saw Harry and Luoen dash out, slam the Doorway shut, bolt it, and pull the key from the lock.

After doing so, Harry and Luoen both exhaled in relief, looked at each other, and smiled.

Dali saw this and nearly lost his breath.

"That's the girls' bathroom! What are you doing?"

Dali ran over quickly while shouting loudly.

"What?"

Harry and Luoen were stunned, not reacting in time.

"Ah..."

The next moment, a scream came from the locked room, causing Harry's and Luoen's faces to turn deathly pale, paler than a ghost.

The two had only been thinking about how to lock up the Giant Monster, completely failing to realize that the place they had just locked was the girls' bathroom.

"Hurry, open the door."

Harry quickly said.

Luoen fumbled with the key, jerking it back in and flung open the bathroom door.

Bang.

The next moment, a huge roar came, and Hermione's piercing scream was drowned out by this explosive sound.

Only to see the Giant Monster hoist a huge wooden club and swing it, instantly smashing an entire row of toilet stalls to pieces.

Fortunately, Hermione cleverly ducked, avoiding this disaster; otherwise, she would probably have only her lower half left.

Dali's speed was extreme; he had already arrived a dozen meters from the girls' bathroom.

He drew his wand and almost without hesitation chanted the spell.

"Petrify them all!"

Hum!

The wand shot out a beam of light, striking the Giant Monster as it prepared to swing its wooden club again.