"Well done!"
Penelope called out with genuine admiration, advancing with her wand aimed directly beneath the massive troll.
"Slipperous!" (Slippery Jinx)
Earlier, when the creature still wielded its wand, she hadn't dared attempt this particular spell. The Slippery Jinx required an extremely close casting range and could be easily dispelled with a simple counter-curse.
But now that the troll had lost its magical weapon, the spell's devastating potential could finally shine through.
A flash of silvery light passed across the forest floor, and the ground beneath the troll transformed into a perfectly smooth stone surface with no rough edges whatsoever. The polished surface gleamed so brilliantly it could reflect the monster's own hulking shadow.
The troll stumbled violently, nearly crashing face-first into the earth. Only by desperately bracing one massive hand against the ground did it manage to avoid complete collapse, barely maintaining its precarious balance.
Trapped in this humiliating position, it no longer dared move carelessly and could only swing its rust-covered sword in futile, sweeping arcs. But Penelope had already retreated safely back to the group, and every other young wizard had positioned themselves well beyond its limited attack range.
Just then, Hermione, who had been patiently searching for the perfect opportunity, suddenly brightened with inspiration. She circled behind the struggling troll, slightly raising her left leg while pressing her wand firmly against her chest.
"Stomping Charm!"
Violent shaking erupted through the forest floor, causing ancient trees to sway ominously overhead. Since the troll was already standing on that treacherous slippery surface, this additional trembling proved absolutely catastrophic. It could only desperately try to steady itself by jamming its sword into the ground, completely losing any ability to defend or mount counterattacks.
Seeing their golden opportunity, Percy immediately bellowed at the top of his lungs: "One more coordinated strike! Three, two, one... Stupefy!"
Including the three second-year students, a total of eleven Stunning Spells lanced through the air toward the troll balanced precariously on the stone surface. It raised one arm protectively, trying its best to shield both heads with the enchanted leather armour, but one crimson beam still struck the left head directly in the ear.
While most of the troll's hide possessed considerable magical resistance, this natural protection definitely didn't extend to the vulnerable head region. Combined with the Stunning Spell's particularly devastating effects on cranial targets, just one successful hit to the ear was sufficient to cause immediate disorientation.
Its left arm dropped limply, the left head's eyes rolled backward showing only whites, and the massive creature instantly lost all balance. The right head desperately attempted to stab its sword into the ground for support, but having lost control of half its body, the single functioning arm couldn't plant the blade firmly on that impossibly smooth surface.
With a tremendous splash, the troll collapsed completely. Only then did the left head regain some semblance of consciousness, struggling pathetically to rise, but it was far too late.
Wave after wave of deep crimson light split into two concentrated groups, continuously bombarding both heads with relentless precision. After withstanding three brutal volleys, the two-headed troll finally lost consciousness entirely. Its massive grip loosened, the rust-covered sword slipped sideways with a metallic clang, shuddered twice against the stone, and then lay perfectly still.
"Whew, I'm absolutely exhausted!" George gasped heavily, hands braced on his knees. The pure black cloak draped across his shoulders rippled with each laboured breath.
Since he'd needed to coordinate continuously with Little Cloak throughout the battle, his physical exertion had exceeded everyone else's by a significant margin. Now he felt too drained to walk properly without support.
"Is it actually dead?" Ron approached with obvious curiosity and delivered a solid kick to the left head, making it wobble grotesquely while causing the unconscious troll's nose to spray out a disgusting string of thick mucus.
"Ugh!" Hermione stumbled backward several paces, her face contorting with pure revulsion.
"No, this level of Stunning Spell can't actually kill a troll. It should merely be unconscious," Percy answered his younger brother's question while stepping forward to observe the creature's shallow breathing patterns. "But it shouldn't regain consciousness anytime soon."
After confirming their hard-won victory, Wood crouched down to examine the fallen sword that lay nearby, while Penelope flicked her wand with practised precision. The thick wooden staff tumbled down from the distant tree where it had been entangled, landing with a solid thud on the forest floor.
After studying the massive implement for several moments, she sighed softly with genuine amazement. "If I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes, I never would have imagined there were wands this enormous anywhere in the world."
"Wands designed for other humanoid creatures are generally scaled up or down to accommodate their specific physique," Evans's voice suddenly emerged from behind them, startling several students who spun around like frightened deer.
Seeing the young wizards react with such alarm, Evans smiled with quiet amusement.
"Excellent work, everyone. When facing a well-equipped troll capable of casting magic, choosing the most methodical tactics while leveraging your numerical advantage was absolutely the correct strategic approach."
With that observation, he waved his wand in a fluid arc, causing the badges pinned to the students' chests to illuminate with brilliant white radiance.
"Ten points each. Keep performing at this level. Save up five hundred points and you can exchange them with me for Flash Step training."
The students immediately looked down to examine their badges with obvious excitement, while Evans stepped forward to study the equipment adorning their fallen opponent.
The sword proved relatively unremarkable. Probably just an ordinary yet well-crafted two-handed greatsword that had acquired those rust stains through prolonged use and poor maintenance.
However, the remaining two pieces of equipment were genuinely extraordinary.
That wand's material appeared to be some variety of tree heartwood. Only a complete heartwood core could create such a massive magical focus. Custom-ordering such a specialised wand would prove quite expensive even with established connections to professional wandmakers.
Wood suitable for wand-crafting represented one-in-a-million material under normal circumstances, and such enormous pieces would require equally rare wand cores to function properly. The base cost alone would exceed a hundred Galleons, not accounting for the inevitable losses during the complex crafting process.
This leather armour was even more remarkable.
Throughout the entire battle, at least thirty Stunning Spells had struck this protective gear, yet they'd only dimmed its magical glow slightly without leaving even the tiniest scratch.
Though this impressive performance included the natural factor of troll hide's inherent magical resistance, such defensive capabilities were sufficient proof of the armour's exceptional quality.
Unfortunately, armour of such massive proportions could only realistically be sold as an exotic collector's item. If no wealthy enthusiast wanted to acquire it, the piece might end up gathering dust indefinitely.
After performing some quick mental calculations, Evans clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.
"This troll counts as your collective spoils of war. After we transport it back to Hogwarts, I'll investigate whether it can be tamed and trained. If successful, I'll provide each of you with modest compensation for your efforts."
"If taming proves impossible, one troll plus its equipment should fetch at least a thousand Galleons on the open market. If we encounter a truly knowledgeable buyer, our earnings could easily double. When that time comes, I'll distribute shares to everyone. Consider it rather nice pocket money."
Over a hundred Galleons per person represented the equivalent of a full month's salary for an ordinary Ministry of Magic employee.
Every student present became visibly excited, and even Harry, whose family possessed considerable wealth, displayed a faint but genuine smile.
Though Hermione's family was quite comfortable financially, money earned through her own dangerous efforts felt entirely different from simple allowances.
Having delivered this encouraging news, Evans stood upright and gazed thoughtfully toward the plain stretching out in the near distance.
However, this represented merely small change compared to what might await them.
This troll had wandered over from that open terrain ahead. Judging by its sophisticated equipment and trained behaviour, it had almost certainly been specifically bred by poachers or dark wizards to serve as a perimeter sentry.
It was only because his own scent proved so irresistibly attractive to magical creatures that the beast had abandoned its assigned post and stumbled into their picnic area, where it fell victim to the students' coordinated group assault.
But the attraction range generated by his peculiar talent shouldn't extend too far. Certainly not exceeding ten miles, or he never would have survived those early adventures in Orleans Forest.
Given that limitation, whoever or whatever organisation had bred and trained this creature shouldn't be positioned too far away.
Evans squinted slightly as dangerous possibilities crystallised in his mind. After the students had calmed down from their victory celebration, he spoke with deceptive casualness.
"Interested in making some serious money? Shall we go raid a poacher's camp?"