Chapter 115

"Aside from Terry and Lisa, my Raven's are doing well," Filius informed them. "The two of them are extremely worried about Harry. I had to give them both a dreamless sleeping potion in order to get them to bed. Had I not, I dare say they would have stayed up all night."

"It's the same with the Badgers. Susan and Hannah were quite distraught when they were brought in. Some of the older years are comforting them now. The rest are fine."

"I see." Albus absentmindedly stroked his beard. "And now, perhaps we can discover how it is that a troll managed to find its way into our castle."

All eyes turned to Quirrel, who was doing his best impression of a dear caught in the headlights. Snape's lips curled distastefully at the man.

"T-th-that was the l-l-last troll that I-I-I was h-hoping to b-b-bring in for the p-p-p-protections of the stone." Quirrel's whole body seemed to shake with fear. "I-it managed t-t-to escape my co-control and t-t-tried to k-k-k-kill me!"

Minvera's nostrils flared, and Snape sensed the woman was close to blowing up. She had never approved of letting trolls into Hogwarts. Not that Snape could blame her. He was not very fond of the idea either.

"If you had wanted to bring in another troll, perhaps you should have thought about telling myself or the Headmaster first!" Quirrel quivered under her stern flare. Snape narrowed his eyes at the man. "Even if you had wanted to bring in another for added security, you wouldn't have been able to deactivate the other protections without the other teachers anyways."

The Defense teacher began to stutter out apologies, but Dumbledore headed him off.

"What's done is done. We cannot undo the past, so let us move forward. Severus, you were the one who investigated the aftermath of the incident with the troll. Tell me, what do you make of it?"

Snape did his best not to turn green as he remembered what he had found upon arriving at the sight of the battle. He had seen many disgusting things in his life, had watched Death Eaters kill and rape and pillaged without remorse, and had seen the gruesome aftermath of muggle and pureblood families that were killed by the Dark Lord himself and Bellatrix Lestrange. Very few things could evoke any kind of negative response from him these days. But the sight he came across in the corridor where he found a bloody and broken Potter lying on top of a headless troll had sickened even him. The horrid stench released from the troll's blood certainly hadn't helped.

"I can only take a guess at what happened," Snape began in the slow drawl he always used when talking. "From what I can determine, Potter somehow leapt onto its back, then managed to make its head explode after it tried to crush his body against a wall." Gasps were heard from Pomona, Aurora, Babbling and Vector. Minerva raised a hand to her mouth, and Filius let out a stifled squeak. "Troll's, as you know, have very thick, magically resistant hides. Not including darker spells, only an extremely powerful Reducto or Bombarda will do any damage to it. That suggests Potter had used one of the more tender spots on it's body to kill it. Given that he was on its back when we found him and his friends, I believe he had stuck his wand in the creature's ear."

"Are you saying that a first year managed to cast the ReductorCurse?" Flitwick squeaked. "That's a very powerful spell. I did not think a first year would ever be capable of using it."

"I did not say Potter used either of those Curses," Snape sneered. "The brat may have some modicum of talent." It was almost painful to admit, but even he could not deny that the son of Potter was talented. It most likely came from his mother. "But there is no way a first year would ever be capable using such an advanced spell. More than likely I suspect it was accidental magic. Perhaps his magic responded to his desperation and reacted in a manner similar to the Bombarda."

"That would make a great deal of sense," Dumbledore allowed pensively. "Harry is an extremely powerful wizard." Snape scowled, but said nothing. "Rarely have I met a young man with such power. Not even Voldemort had that much raw power when he first started Hogwarts." There were many flinches at the Dark Lords name. Snape was not one of them. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Quirrel wasn't either. Snape frowned as he laid eyes on the man, and tried not to shift his right leg too much.

"And you believe he is powerful enough that he can kill a troll with accidental magic?" asked Minerva, her lips forming a pensive line. "That is almost as outlandish as him knowing how to cast a spell that most people do not learn until their fifth year."

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