The Halloween feast was held as scheduled. The surroundings were filled with a joyful atmosphere; even Malfoy was rare enough not to bickering with her.
Kate leisurely finished a chicken leg and some pasta, just as she saw Professor Quirrell suddenly dash into the Great Hall.
His large turban was worn crookedly on his head, and his face was full of terror as he ran to Professor Dumbledore's chair.
"Troll! In the dungeons—thought you ought to know."
Having said this, he plunged headfirst onto the floor and fainted dead away.
The Great Hall immediately turned into a mess.
Dumbledore had to make several purple fireworks explode from the tip of his wand before everyone quieted down.
"Prefects," he said in a deep voice, "lead the students of each house back to the dormitories immediately!"
Kate stood up obediently, looked back at Hermione, mouthed "Go back quickly," and followed the Prefect out of the Great Hall.
They returned smoothly to the Slytherin Common Room. The small space was crowded. Compared to spending Halloween with other houses in the Great Hall, the little snakes preferred closing the door and spending it with their own kind.
Only Kate used the excuse of being in a bad mood to return to the dormitory.
Behind her, Malfoy, eating delivered food, looked at her back and frowned for a while. Not long after, he habitually made a few sarcastic remarks before feeling satisfied.
Kate closed the dormitory door, glanced at the sleeping Fluffball, then quickly sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes.
At the same time, a suit of armor located in the fourth floor armor corridor suddenly moved.
It took unsteady steps, its metal body creaking and groaning as it swayed, sounding exceptionally obvious in the quiet corridor.
The Phantom Clone Kate had created, if not attached to a physical object, was just a mass of visible but intangible light and shadow. Such a clone could be immune to most magic damage, but was unsuitable for dealing with a troll.
Looking at the whole castle, only the armor on the fourth floor could accomplish what Kate wanted to do.
After her consciousness got used to the current armor body, Kate manipulated the armor to go downstairs step by step.
Now that students of all years had been taken back to their Common Rooms and the professors had gone to the dungeons to find the troll, she didn't have to worry about being discovered at all.
Just like that, she arrived unimpeded near the bathroom where Hermione had hidden during the day. Kate heard a burst of low muttering and the sound of massive feet dragging on the ground.
Has it come?
The armored warrior raised the longsword in its hand and waited patiently inside the bathroom.
Soon, the shadow of a massive creature gradually covered the doorway of the bathroom from the corridor.
Via the clone's vision, Kate could clearly see the troll's appearance. It was twelve feet tall, with skin as dull and grey as granite. Its massive, clumsy body looked like a pile of huge boulders, topped with a small head the size of a cocoa bean.
Its short legs were as thick as tree stumps, ending in flat, horny feet. The smell emanating from its body was disgusting enough to make one vomit.
It held a thick wooden club in its hand. Because its arms were so long, the club dragged along the ground, making a harsh, ear-piercing sound.
The troll stopped at the door, peered inside for a moment, then lowered its head and slowly squeezed into the room.
Just in time!
The armored warrior seized the moment, raised the longsword high, and slashed down at the troll's head!
Heavy magical energy spread from the longsword, rippling outwards. However, the fluctuation caused by this energy overflow was too great, and since it was Kate's first time manipulating such a heavy physical entity, she hadn't estimated the distance well. The troll actually raised the wooden club in its hand and blocked the attack.
Even so, the troll was blasted away by her strike, smashing a small pit into the corridor wall. The huge wooden club in its hand shattered into pieces and fell to the ground.
The troll shook its ugly head, stood up unsteadily, and roared angrily at her.
This guy's voice is too loud; it will attract the professors.
I have to end this quickly.
"Roar!" The troll bellowed madly, charging directly at the armored warrior in front of it, waving a massive fist to smash it.
With a loud bang, the iron-like fist forced the armored warrior against the door panel, but it was blocked by the shield in its hand.
At the same time, Kate, her small face pale, struggled to manipulate the longsword in the warrior's hand. With a "Pfft" sound, it pierced through the troll's body.
Instantly, the troll let out a heart-wrenching howl.
The footsteps of various professors rushing over could be heard in the nearby corridor.
Kate grit her teeth, used all her strength to push the troll pressing on her away, and ran quickly in the opposite direction of the corridor.
By the time McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell followed the sound and arrived, the window at the end of the corridor was already broken, leaving only the dying troll and the traces of a struggle all over the floor.
"What happened here?" McGonagall looked at the mess in shock. "Someone fought the troll here?"
Snape's cold gaze quickly took in everything at the scene, finally locking onto the broken window.
"It seems someone stabbed the troll and escaped."
Quirrell was also full of surprise: "How is that possible? All the professors are looking for it, and the students have returned to their dormitories. Could it be an intruder who broke in and stabbed the troll?"
An outsider breaking in at this time...
Snape's sharp gaze quickly looked at Quirrell's face, but seeing that he also looked clueless, he barely managed to suppress his emotions.
"Regardless, we must send the troll for treatment first," McGonagall said immediately. "Also, have the Prefects thoroughly check the students' return to their dormitories!"
If a student had encountered the troll here...
Looking at the blood all over the floor, McGonagall didn't dare to think further.
The professors split up to act. McGonagall went to notify all Prefects, Quirrell was responsible for transporting the troll, and Snape went to investigate if there were traces of an outsider breaking in.
Meanwhile, Kate manipulated the armored warrior to wash the blood off its body in the Black Lake before sneaking it back to the fourth floor armor corridor.
"Phew..." Having finally regained her own consciousness with difficulty, she heard urgent knocking on the door.
Just as she thought of getting up to open the door, her vision went black, and her body fell straight down.
Damn it, manipulating a standalone clone was already exhausting enough, let alone a clone attached to a physical object this time.
That was a suit of armor weighing nearly a hundred pounds; it was strenuous enough for her to wear it herself, let alone supporting it with her mind.
Perhaps, for better manipulation of the clone, she needed to strengthen her Spirit attribute.
Struggling to climb up and open the door, the female Prefect Cooper was startled as soon as she saw her pale face and almost dragged her off to the Hospital Wing.
After clarifying that her intention was to check if she was in the dorm, Kate gave a few perfunctory answers, closed the door, fell onto the bed, and went straight to sleep.
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