Chapter 121: Forward

Fourth-floor corridor.

A blurred figure was moving rapidly, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

After hearing Parvati Patil’s words, Wizard Sean knew the plot had not changed.

When he had just left the Great Hall, he heard the noise from within and saw Professor Quirrell’s figure.

This confirmed to him that Tom could hardly go on a killing spree unless he wanted to be turned into Tom #2 by Dumbledore.

Next, he only needed to ensure Hermione’s safety.

That wouldn’t be hard.

Unless Tom’s brain had migrated to a troll’s body, even if he couldn’t defeat the troll, Wizard Sean was more than capable of dragging Hermione out—after all, this time there was no Potter locking the door.

But Wizard Sean didn’t realize that more than one person had begun following him from behind.

At the entrance to the fourth-floor bathroom.

A foul stench pierced Wizard Sean’s nostrils—a mix of dirty socks and an uncleaned public toilet.

Then he heard it—a low muttering and the heavy thud of giant feet dragging along the floor.

At the end of a corridor to the left, a massive creature was moving toward him.

Wizard Sean concealed his form, preparing to find Hermione first.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the giant monster stepped into a patch of moonlight.

The sight was horrifying. It stood twelve feet tall, its skin dull and gray like granite, its massive and clumsy body resembling a pile of huge rubble, topped with a tiny head no bigger than a cocoa bean.

Its short legs were thick as tree stumps, ending in flat, calloused, coarse feet. The odor it emitted was nauseating. In its hand it gripped a thick wooden club, which dragged along the ground due to its long arms.

The troll stopped beside a door and peered inside.

Worse still, at that very moment, the door creaked slightly—as if someone inside was about to open it.

But the sound of opening ceased quickly, because the troll—the stinking troll—had slipped inside the room.

Wizard Sean moved in sync with the troll; with the help of the Disillusionment Charm and the Silencing Charm, he slipped into the bathroom without effort.

The bathroom was empty, seemingly devoid of anything.

But inside a stall, Hermione was clutching her mouth tightly.

“Troll! It’s a troll! A monster with danger level xxxx! Little witches and wizards have no chance to fight back against it—they’re too terrified to even cast a spell!”

This voice crashed through Hermione’s mind, and worse, she had been crying for too long and had no strength left.

Added to her terror, she probably couldn’t even cast a simple Levitation Charm.

Hermione crouched in the stall, on the verge of fainting at any moment.

Outside the stall.

Wizard Sean heard faint, stifled breathing; through the half-open stall door, he saw Hermione’s pale face.

Her eyes were dull, her lips trembling, and though she tried to stand, she lacked the strength.

Wizard Sean’s gaze trembled. He sighed, shed all hesitation, and quietly stepped into the stall—the Disillusionment Charm receded from him like a retreating tide.

His expression, usually calm, flickered slightly—the troll had appeared early; waiting for Potter and the others was pointless now.

…

The corridor.

Among the little witches and wizards sprinting toward their dormitories, Neville and Jia Jia Siting, moving against the tide, looked utterly bizarre.

The troll—twelve feet tall, weighing over a ton, with thick, leathery skin, immune to most magical attacks—

These were the words Professor Quirrell had repeatedly emphasized in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, his voice stuttering, even calling on several students to answer questions.

To the little witches and wizards, the troll’s terror rivaled that of a dragon.

Thus, most of the students fleeing to their dorms had pale faces, wishing they had extra legs to run faster.

“Do you think we’ll die if the troll finds us?”

One little witch trembled as she asked her companion.

“What else? Do you think you’re Wizard Sean? Fighting a troll alone, defeating a werewolf bare-handed, even stealing a dragon’s egg right under its nose…”

The little witch made a joke, but the atmosphere didn’t lighten at all.

Jia Jia Siting and Neville were already struggling to breathe.

Especially Jia Jia Siting—he had just left the warm kitchen and hadn’t even had time to put on a robe; he was shivering.

“Actually… Wizard Sean isn’t…”

Neville wanted to say something, but the words only made the atmosphere heavier.

Once they realized Wizard Sean and Hermione couldn’t possibly fight the troll, they ran even faster.

A flash of lightning split the sky, followed by a roar of thunder.

The wind, the rain, the pounding of his heart—all dissolved in Jia Jia Siting’s mind into a gentle female voice:

“You are about to enter the violent world of adults, my child. You must become unbreakable.

I know justice is a rugged path. If you ever reach the moment where you must choose between lives, my child, Jia Jia Siting, remember—you need not a wand, but courage.”

When does a person become unstoppable?

Jia Jia Siting thought: when he obeyed the greatest voice of his life—his mother’s call.

The Hut of Hope.

The yellowed envelope still rested on the expensive suitcase, chosen by Mrs. Fenlili, painstakingly packed with longing.

Now the yellowed envelope still swayed slightly in the wind, Mrs. Fenlili’s handwriting clearly visible:

【Dear Jia Jia Siting:

In the meaning of life, we are all miracles. Just as the future is not necessarily more important than the present, how can one face a broken future when the brave stand in the now? Yet I love you, my child. I love you—that’s all.

—Never disappointed in you: Liliana】

…

The Great Hall.

Snape watched the noisy little witches and wizards, his cruel gaze sweeping the room.

Not there, not there, still not there…

As everyone’s attention scattered, Snape easily noticed Quirrell’s absence.

His eyes grew darker than ever; after a glance at the equally panicked Professor McGonagall, they darkened further.

He’s gone… he’s disappeared…

Snape’s mind reeled. Watching Dumbledore gaze at a certain direction, his fury erupted violently:

“What are you waiting for, Albus! We must find him! Damn it! Find him!”

“Severus, are you speaking of Harry? He just went out—oh, he’ll be fine…”

Dumbledore’s words stunned Snape; then he coldly glared at Dumbledore.

Yes, in the eyes of the greatest white wizard of this century, who could possibly rival Harry Potter?

Precisely because he knew this—that Harry was always under Dumbledore’s control—he had failed to notice Harry’s departure moments ago.

What of the others? What of the other wizards?

Hmph… all expendable… pawns?

What awaited at the end of the castle stairs?

Quirrell… or the Dark Lord?

The resurrected Dark Lord, the plan to prove the Chosen One’s potential, the shadowed pawn walking in darkness…

He had long since nothing left to offer this filthy world, and willingly spun his cocoon at the filthy entrance of Spider Alley.

Yet something must rise above all else.

Snape walked out of the Great Hall with a cold face.