Chapter 10: Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!
After their first lesson together, Shal began to notice that Hermione was beginning to seem a bit less confident in her classes. Yes, she was still the ace student she used to be, but now, whenever the teachers lectured, she got this look on her face that said, "Is this really true?" But that didn't stop her know-it-all intellect when they were in Flitwick's class.
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing," he said, ever-comical as he stood on his pile of books and preached in helium-soaked words. Shal always had trouble keeping calm in that class. The professor then instructed the class on how to lift small objects using magical force (levitation, as Flitwick called it).
"Wingardium Leviosa!" the class recited as they began practicing on feathers. The class was paired up. Shal was with Neville (he was kind of a klutz, Shal began to notice), Harry was with Seamus Finnigan, and Ron was with Hermione. The last two were very irked at being placed together. Like oil and water, Shal thought.
As they practiced, things only went downhill. Harry's partner, Seamus, had successfully set fire to his feather, and both were struggling to cast the spell. Ron was having great difficulty making his feather move at all. He shouted the words at the top of his lungs and waved his arms like a madman trying to hail a taxi. To add to his frustration, Hermione was correcting his pronunciation.
"You're saying it wrong," she said, condescending. "It's Win-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, and put a strong emphasis on the 'gar' and the 'o.'"
"Well, why don't you do it, if you're so smart?" Ron snapped back at her. He, like Shal, obviously hated having his pronunciation corrected.
Hermione did so, effortlessly. With a swish and a flick and a "Wingardium Leviosa!," her feather soared into the air. Flitwick hopped up and down, applauding and cheering for Hermione in a most entertaining manner.
It was then that a second feather flew into the air and started batting people across the face. People turned and saw Shal pointing and waving his wand at different people.
"Look, everyone," Flitwick said excitedly. "Mr. Shaloxeroligon has done it, too!"
"But he didn't even say the right words," Neville said. "It was all just a bunch of gibberish and nonsense."
Shal didn't care what Neville said. He had learned to cast a similar (and more powerful) spell from his mother, and used the Draconic words instead of the ones Flitwick had said. Ron continued to sulk and was in a bad mood for the rest of the class.
"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as the students left the class. "She's a nighmare."
Shal saw Hermione butt into them from behind and darted off down the hall. She was obviously upset, with tears streaming down her face. He darted after her. She continued to run, even though Shal knew she could hear him. But, dragons are faster than humans are, and he eventually caught up with her, just before she was about to enter the girl's bathroom.
"Wait!" Shal said.
"Leave me alone, Shal," she replied, still crying.
"Those guys are just too insensitive. Don't let it get to you like that. Besides, he probably didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
She stopped, turned away from the bathroom door, and looked down at Shal.
"I really don't have any friends!" she sobbed, crouching down next to the wall. Shal came up beside her and place his hand on her shoulder. She looked to him.
"I'm your friend," he replied softly.
She smiled at the young dragon, and rubbed the tears from her eyes. It was true. Shal really did care. He was her friend.
"Now, come on," Shal said trying to be motivating. "Let's go back to class. That is, if you want to."
She nodded. Together, the pair of them went back to class, and Hermione felt a heavy burden lifted off of her shoulders.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Classes were routine, even though people were excited about Halloween. Shal, however, had no knowledge of this holiday. He asked his friends, and they were astonished.
"What?" Ron exclaimed. "You've never heard of Halloween? How can that be?"
Hermione was more controlled. "Every year on this day, we celebrate All Hallows Eve, or Halloween for short. It originated in ancient times. The modern holiday is a combination of two older ones, one that celebrates the end of the growing season, and one that celebrates the ones who have died. There is always pumpkin carving and costumes and sweets at the parties."
Shal found this holiday fascinating. Why in the world had he never heard of it before? He planned on asking his parents in his next letter. Pumpkins being carved? How?
As they went down for dinner, Shal found the answer to his question. Amid the live bats swarming around the Great Hall, there were pumpkins suspended in midair. Each one had a demonic face with a malicious grin carved into the skin, and the soft glow of candlelight emanated from the mouths. It was truly a sight to behold, especially for one who had never celebrated such a holiday in his life.
Dinner spread out before them like usual, appearing magically on the plates and platters, and as usual, it was very good food. They had eaten for only about five minutes when there was an… interruption. The doors of the Great Hall were flung open, and wiry Professor Quirrel came running in. He was disheveled and obviously frightened as he ran up to Dumbledore. He reached the table and exclaimed:
"Troll! In the dungeons!" There was a pause, then he added softly: "Thought you wanted to know." And with that he collapsed onto the hard floor.
The entire dining hall started shouting and screaming in one simultaneous roar. Some were absolutely terror-stricken, while others were simply worried, but the noise was still deafening.
At the front table, the voice of truth rang out over the rest. It was Dumbledore. "SILENCE!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The hall complied, and subsided into noiselessness.
"Now," he continued at a more reasonable volume, "prefects, lead your houses to your dormitories immediately!"
The houses each got up and massed their way out the doors. The first years were terrified. Well, all except for Shal, of course. Harry looked at him, suspicious of his enthusiasm.
"What are you so anxious about? There's a troll in the school!"
"Exactly!" Shal replied excitedly. "I wanna take it on, and take it out! I'll be a hero."
"Are you daft, mate?" Ron asked, overhearing the conversation. "It's a Troll! Let the teachers take care of it."
"No. Besides, it'll be fun." And Shal crept into a clump of Hufflepuffs going in that direction. Harry was just about to let him go when he saw Snape going in that direction. He wondered why Snape wasn't down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers. Quickly, he snuck after the dragon. Ron saw him leave. Harry, what are you doing, you nut? He thought. He worried about his friend, and followed. Hermione then noticed that she was alone. She quickly looked around and saw Ron going after Harry going after Snape. She remembered what Shal had said earlier that day. "He probably didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He probably wanted to be her friend, but was too ashamed to be seen with her. And she was also being a bit of a know-it-all. Finally, curiosity got the best of her, and she followed after the group.
When Snape turned around to check if he was being followed, he saw no one. Harry had deftly crammed behind a statue. However, the statue he had chosen already had an occupant: Shal. Harry knew why Shal had come: to go after the troll. Shal knew why Harry had come: to go after the troll with him. So they both said nothing. The pair then noticed Ron and Hermione behind a statue right across from them. When the coast was clear, they all climbed out into the hallway.
"What are you thinking, man?" Ron asked Harry as the quartet crept after Snape's fleeting feet.
"Think about it. Why isn't Snape down with the other teachers in the dungeons?" said Harry incredulously.
They all turned to Hermione. "What are you doing here?" asked Ron.
"Well," she began sheepishly. "I was worried about you two doing something foolish."
"Never mind," said Harry. "You're here now, there's no sense going back, I guess."
They continued to pursue Snape's fading footsteps. He had gone onto the third floor. They were just about to follow when Shal clutched his nostrils, disgust apparent in his manner.
"What is that awful smell?" Shal said, thoroughly grossed out. "What did you guys eat for lunch, a toilet seat?"
It was then that they heard the sound of gigantic footfalls off in the distance, accompanied by animalistic grunting. They hid behind a corner and they saw the creature ambling down the hallway. It was a monstrous thing, some twelve feet high, with gunpowder gray skin, giant, muscular limbs, and a small head atop a great mountain of torso. In one of its mammoth arms, it held a club that was probably fashioned from an entire tree. The troll reeked of a combination of extreme B.O. and feces.
The three humans were petrified with fear. Shal smiled.
"There it is. The troll. It won't be causing any more problems when I'm through with it." With that, he darted silently toward the incredible hulk and scaled a wall behind it. The humans were amazed when they saw that the wall was perfectly smooth. Little did they know that copper dragons have the unique ability to climb any stone surface, even the ceilings, like a spider.
And so, the hunt begins, Shal thought. The creature's back was to him, and its own stink probably covered up Shal's presence. He prepared himself, crouched down, and lunged at the creature's head. He latched on with his sharp claws and began viciously attacking its bald scalp. The creature let out a yowl of pain as it swung its head around stupidly, trying to get a look at the new assailant. Only then did it realize that the dragon was actually on its head, and it started swatting at Shal. But he was too fast for it. He deftly dodged the troll's madly flailing arm as it grabbed at the tiny pest.
"You're retarded!" Shal shouted mockingly at the troll's buffoonery.
The troll then got the bright idea to smack it off with its club, so it took a swing. It missed the quick little dragon and whacked itself squarely on the top of its meaty skull. It staggered and swayed as the world spun around it. Shal seized his opportunity to knock the creature out. He climbed down the creature's back and one of its legs, and bit heavily into the creature shin. The troll stumbled, hit its already bludgeoned head into the wall, and fell to the floor unconscious.
The humans had been watching all the while, utterly in shock that something so small could take down something so big. They rushed over to Shal, but were cautious in case the troll woke up.
"How did you do that?" Ron asked, astounded.
"Proper training and lots of practice," the young dragon replied. "My father taught me how to hunt."
"Is it dead?" Hermione asked.
"No, but it could be. You want me to kill it?"
"That won't be necessary," said a voice from behind.
The first years turned about to see Professor McGonagall glowering down at them. She was even more ticked off than when Harry had left the ground after Malfoy.
"Now, what do you four think you are doing?" she asked, reddening with anger.
The three boys um'd and er'd and stuttered, because they couldn't think of an answer that wouldn't get them in trouble. Hermione spoke up.
"I'm the one to blame here. I thought that I could take on the troll, because…well, I've read all about them."
Harry and Ron stared at Hermione, baffled. Is she lying, their faces seemed to say. Shal, on the other hand, was pleased, because she was doing something completely out of character: she was sticking up for her friends.
"But I was in over my head," she continued. "If Shal hadn't intervened, I'd probably be dead."
"Miss Granger," the professor replied, just as surprised, "I'm very disappointed in you. How could you even think of taking on such a creature by yourself? Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your extreme lapse in judgement.
"You boys had better be getting back to the tower. A point will be deducted for each of you for disobeying Professor Dumbledore's orders."
As they turned to go, Professor McGonagall said one last thing. "And as for you, Shal, I'm impressed." The four stopped and turned. "Not many first years could take on a mountain troll single-handedly. I will award Gryffindor ten points for your skill and bravery. Now ple-."
Before Professor McGonagall could finish, the troll made a loud growl that startled all of them, and it rose angrily from the floor. Just as it got to its feet, Shal panicked and dove in front of the others. He then breathed a massive jet of hissing green acid right at the troll's head. Hermione let out a shriek of terror as the stream of acid hit dead on and continued gushing passed, finally slamming forcefully into a wall behind. It then stopped suddenly. All this happened over the course of about one second. Where the troll's head and shoulders used to be, there was now nothing more than a bloody mess. Headless and armless, the torso (or what was left of it) and legs of the beast fell to the floor lifelessly. The wall behind had a huge five-foot-diameter hole in it.
Speechless, the four humans stared at Shal with those all-too familiar wide eyes. He grinned broadly and strode off toward the Gryffindor common room. From then on, Hermione was friends with their little group. They also gave Shal a little more respect, and he could almost feel a twinge of fear in their eyes.
