As soon as the troll appeared from an intersection, Harry and Ron also appeared from the other side, but this time it wasn't just the two of them, Seamus and Dean came with them too.
Rigel's appearance had already significantly altered the plot, as well as the relationship between the boys.
In the original storyline, although the relationships between the other boys weren't bad, they would hardly have formed a cohesive group. Rigel ended up uniting the Gryffindor boys, and it was at this moment that this change became evident.
Not only did Ron and Harry remember Hermione, but the boys also remembered that Rigel and Neville had gone to bring her food, so when Harry and Ron arrived, Dean and Seamus didn't stay behind, all wanting to warn Rigel about the troll in the dungeons.
However, as soon as the four boys arrived and saw the troll, their eyes widened in fear, and like Hermione and Neville, they froze. Holy crap, wasn't the troll in the dungeons?! How did it end up on the second floor?!
The troll's mind wasn't the best, he looked at the group of small creatures and his first thought was to crush them.
Although the desire to eat these creatures was undeniable, the true motive for the attack was simply a territorial issue and the stress caused by waking up in an unfamiliar environment.
At that moment, the troll was already annoyed, with 'strangers' appearing near him, he became even more irritated, he just wanted to kill these creatures and fill his belly, then continue searching for his cave.
So the troll let out a ferocious roar, raising his club, ready to crush those ants to death.
Rigel watched the troll's 'slow' movement, having no idea how to confront it head-on.
Just kidding, although Rigel's strength could now lift a little over one ton, the troll's strength was far superior to his own. He could probably survive the troll's full-strength attack, but he could hardly fight it in hand-to-hand combat.
So Rigel moved.
His wand appeared in his hand as he pointed it at the troll's weapon, the levitation spell was cast silently due to Rigel's constant practice with it. The club remained behind, leaving the troll completely confused.
Rigel knew that this guy's weakness was his small head, but he had no plans to copy Ron.
Just as planned, a jet of water shot out of his wand while the troll was still staring at his hand, confused. A jet of water surged around his head. The troll roared in fright, putting his hand to his head, trying to remove the water, but it was useless. Only a little of the water was dispersed around the troll, but more and more water continued to accumulate, covering the troll's entire head.
The Troll began to stagger, struggling to remove the water, banging against the walls. Rigel realized it was approaching them, his eyes widened, he hadn't thought of that part, so he could only use the oldest trick in the book and shouted. "Run!"
He tugged at the arm of the dimwitted Neville, and Hermione finally awoke, quickly chasing after them.
His choice to pull Neville away wasn't a lack of chivalry, but rather because, knowing the boy's luck, the probability of him being crushed by the troll was very high!
Fortunately, the troll wasn't chasing them, just disoriented.
Rigel's control over water was enough to keep the water on the Troll's head even while it was moving.
The group ran further, the four boys in front also waking up, running alongside them. The Troll continued to advance, bumping into everything, breaking frames and knocking off an unlucky suit of armor. It was already out of breath, perhaps the Troll had a moment of thought to actually come up with the idea of banging his head against something.
He threw himself directly against the wall, his water-covered head slamming hard against it, well, one could only say that the Trolls' intelligence really left much to be desired this time.
A hollow sound was heard, and the water around his head began to turn red, surprising Rigel.
The troll fell straight down, its head dragging along the wall as its limp body fell with a heavy thud. Blood and water stained the wall where its head slid. When it fell motionless, Rigel finally removed the spell.
Seeing the result, Rigel was left speechless. He just wanted to knock this big guy out! Did he really have to commit suicide that way?
Rigel's lips trembled fiercely, for a moment he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The children also noticed when Rigel stopped, looking at the Troll. Its head was sunken, his mouth open, and his eyes almost squeezed out.
Neville vomited right there, Hermione managed to hold it in, but she stopped looking.
"Incredible." Seamus said. Unlike the others, who were disgusted, he seemed genuinely curious about the open head. He took a few steps forward, but after looking a little closer, especially after hearing Neville's vomiting sounds, he finally looked away. Well, it really was disgusting.
Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps approached rapidly from the crossroads. McGonagall Quirrell and Filch came running, looked first at the children, then at the dead troll, then back at the children.
[A/N: In the movie, Snape took Filch's place, but I decided to keep Filch here.]
Rigel saw McGonagall's brain short-circuit for a moment, then the woman seemed to have reached a conclusion, judging by her furious face, Rigel knew he had to speak nicely or everyone would end up with far more serious problems than simply deducting points.
"What, by Merlin's beard, were you thinking?!" She suppressed the fury within her, yet the irritation was completely evident in her voice. "What the hell are you doing here and not in the dormitories?"
Hermione looked at the furious McGonagall and felt that she was to blame for all of this, so she decided to take the blame. Just as she was about to speak, Rigel grabbed her arm and spoke first. "Professor, I can explain."
"Then explain yourself!" The woman shouted, suppressing her irritation. Beside her, her two companions already had different expressions. Filch seemed to be rejoicing in their misfortune, hoping they would be expelled. Quirrell seemed to lose his cowardly facade for a brief moment, and his anger almost showed, but except for Rigel, no one else noticed.
"Today, after the first class, Hermione wasn't feeling well. I heard from Parvati that she'd been in the bathroom all day, so Neville and I came to bring her food. We didn't even know about the troll." Rigel explained, opening his hands, clearly avoiding any blame.
Minerva's furrowed brow loosened slightly, she looked at Hermione, who lowered her head, looking embarrassed. Minerva's anger had practically subsided, she hadn't wanted to make things difficult for these young wizards from the start.
"And them? I don't believe they needed all of you to bring a plate of food, do they?" Filch seized the moment to speak, clearly wanting to find trouble for the four of them. Quirrell remained silent, observing everything while feigning fear of the Troll, but in reality he was looking at the way the creature had died, trying to understand how these brats killed an adult mountain troll.
Minerva turned her gaze to the four of them, and this time it was Harry who spoke. "We knew Rigel was coming to bring food for Hermione, so when we heard about the troll, we came to warn him."
Ron, Seamus, and Dean shook their heads rapidly, clearly afraid of McGonagall's hard stare.
Filch clicked his tongue, clearly wanting to find fault, but McGonagall raised her hand. "All right, I understand the story. It was very kind of you to worry about your friends, and the four of you were also very brave to come and warn them, however..."
McGonagall's initial words delighted the children, but upon hearing the 'however', they froze.
"Mr. Potter, Weasley, Finnigan, and Thomas, the correct course of action would have been to warn a prefect or a professor. Never act so recklessly, you could have died." McGonagall scolded them, but from her slight expression, it was clear it was merely a formality, deep down, she was still proud.
"One point will be deducted from each of you four, however, for your bravery and desire to help your friends, three points will be awarded to each of you, all six of you." Minerva concluded.
Filch looked like he'd just eaten a lemon while the boys suppressed their smiles, afraid McGonagall might change her mind.
"Now go back to the dormitory, the Halloween celebrations will be held in your own houses this year." The woman concluded, but before they could leave, she spoke. "Wait a moment, first tell me how the Troll died?"
Minerva, who had looked at the forgotten Troll, finally remembered to ask about it. All the children looked at Rigel. Minerva raised an eyebrow. Had it been Rigel?
"Professor, it was a water spell. I made a ball of water over the Troll's head. I only wanted to make him faint by drowning, but he went crazy and threw himself against the walls. That was the result." Rigel shrugged, pointing at the Troll.
Rigel did not want to be seen as a bloodthirsty dark wizard, although killing a troll was an impressive feat in the minds of those students, once the story spread, it could easily morph into a narrative where Rigel had cast multiple dark spells to kill the troll.
He could already see that if he carelessly let this story unfold, the next day the Daily Prophet would publish: 'Rigel Black: Hero or New Dark Lord?'
So, Rigel wanted to quickly spread the word that it had all been an accident, that was much easier to believe, and made it much harder for a certain nosy reporter to sling mud at him.
McGonagall looked at Rigel, then at the trails of blood and water, beyond the destruction caused by the Troll, nodding her head, she could imagine the scene.
"Very well, that was a good plan, quick and precise thinking, 10 points to Gryffindor for that, now you may go." McGonagall nodded to them.
Under Quirrell's thoughtful gaze and Filch's irritated one, the group exchanged glances and quickly ran away.
It was truly a memorable Halloween, even more so because after the troll died, the Adventure Book opened again, and Rigel wanted to quickly return to the dormitory to see what he had received this time.