Welcome to part 2 of the double update! If you're reading this one first then go back a chapter and check out chapter 19 or you might be a little confused. Enjoy!
Draco Malfoy wasn't scared of a stupid troll. Well, not really. Despite his initial fear, trolls were big ugly and mean, after all, he wasn't worried. No, he was more curious than anything which was why he was following Potter, Zabini, and Weasley. He had seen the trio slip away when everyone was filing out of the Great Hall.
With the Slytherin and Hufflepuff prefects trying to decide what to do with their houses as their common rooms were in the dungeons Draco had easily slipped away unseen. He didn't dare to get too close to the Gryffindors (and Zabini) because he didn't want to get caught. He wasn't sure what they were doing but he wanted in.
He had noticed something off about those three since day one. Potter had been first, Draco hadn't known at the time when he first met Potter but looking back on the meeting, the other boy was just weird. There was something increasingly familiar about Harry Potter and it drove Draco crazy.
Draco had hated Zabini on sight. Even during the playdates their parents had set up as young children, something about the black boy just rubbed Draco the wrong way, the feeling was mutual.
Weasley was the worst. Draco had never met a Weasley before coming to Hogwarts but there was just something about it.
Draco smelled the troll before he saw it. In front of him the trio obviously smelled it as well because they stopped and covered their noses.
Then there was a scream.
The trio raced forward. "How did the troll get here?" Zoro growled. "I thought the troll was in the dungeons!"
"Maybe the troll is like Zoro," Luffy said a giggle, even as they ran to the room where Hermione's scream came from.
"Now's not the time, Luffy!" Nami shouted. "Hermione's in trouble!"
"Right!" Luffy nodded slipping into his serious mood. A friend was in trouble and Luffy wasn't going to let her get hurt. He would save her.
The three pirates darted into the room and stopped for a moment in awe. The troll was easily the largest thing they had seen in their new lives. It was no Oars, of course, but since their rebirth they had never seen something so big and ugly.
"It smells so bad," Luffy said gagging. Zoro's eyes were watering and Nami looked very green.
Hermione gave another shriek and Zoro sprang into action. "Hermione! Move!" The swordsman yelled. The troll, finally alerted to the fact that there were others in the room, turned and grunted. Zoro rushed forward with Luffy not far behind.
"Watch out for its club!" Nami yelled watching the beast lift the club threateningly.
Hermione gave another shriek and did her best to huddle down among the broken sinks. Unfortunately, the noise drew the attention of the troll back to her. The troll when it turned dropped its club back down just enough that Zoro and Luffy could reach it.
Nami watched as his monster-like crewmates grabbed the club and managed to match the troll for strength. In their old lives, Zoro alone would have been able to match it but now, as young as they were and without their lifetimes of training Luffy and Zoro managed to hold it back, just barely.
"Ugh?" The troll grunted jerking the club to no avail. The two pirates managed to hold fast.
"Nami get her out of the way!" Luffy shouted through clenched teeth. The redhead nodded to himself and darted forward past the troll who didn't even seem to notice as preoccupied as it was and grabbed Hermione's wrist.
"Come on," Nami said tugging at the frightened girl. "We've got to go!"
Hermione whimpered but Nami managed to pull her away from the busted and leaking sinks and pulled her to safety.
"They're going to die," Hermione moaned watching the two boys struggle in a deadly game of tug-of-war with the beast.
"They'll be fine," Nami said without thinking.
"But the troll is a monster and we don't even know any magic to stop it!" Hermione cried.
The two watched as the troll managed to jerk it's club away. Zoro fell backward from the force but Luffy stubbornly hung on, even as the beast hauled it high into the air and roared angrily. Luffy roared back and with a mighty leap from the club landed squarely on the troll's shoulders.
Nami laughed a little hysterically and shook his head. "The troll might be a monster," Nami said watching his crew fight. "But so are Luffy and Zoro."
Zoro was going to have his mother send his swords, school rules be damned. He didn't even care what Snape or the Headmaster though at this point, the troll made two fights without his swords. Zoro was a swordsman. With no swords. Something wasn't adding up.
The troll was turning out to be a great fight though. It gave him a chance to really gauge his strength unlike the fight with the Cerberus, and both he and Luffy needed some work. They had tried to get some training in but this fight made it clear that it was nowhere near enough.
"Luffy!" Zoro cried when the pint-sized captain lept from the club he had been clinging to onto the troll's shoulders. Of course, the former rubber boy immediately began punching the troll in its ugly smashed face but Zoro wasn't sure how much damage was being done because of the troll's thick hide and the thicker skull. The troll did notice the punches and Zoro had to dodge a few stumbling steps as the beast tried to pry the boy off its head.
"I have to knock it down," Zoro muttered to himself. They weren't making any headway with the thing still on its feet. The dark-skinned swordsman rushed the troll and wrapped his arms as best he could around its foot and lifted with all his strength. The troll wobbled dangerously but kicked out with the foot that Zoro was holding onto and the swordsman went flying.
Zoro grunted in pain when he hit the wall hard. Somewhere Zoro could hear Hermione's cries of shock and Nami's voice trying to calm the girl down. Had Zoro been normal that hit might have killed him. Thankfully he and Luffy were sturdier than regular wizards. The black-haired boy shook his head in an attempt to stop the stars from flickering around his vision.
"Shitty swordsman," a voice from the doorway nearby where Zoro had landed drawled. "Can't even beat a shitty troll."
Zoro whipped his head around and scowled at the blond standing in the door. Of course, the stupid cook would choose now to remember. "No one asked you, Love Cook, you're the one who is late to the party," Zoro growled out glaring at the other Slytherin boy.
Zoro pushed himself to his feet and the reincarnated cook gave the swordsman a dirty look before they both turned their attention back to the troll that Luffy was still fighting. The troll had finally managed to peel Luffy off its face and held the pint-sized captain away from its body like an angry puppy. The beast roared and swung recklessly with its club, thankfully missing each time.
Sanji rolled his eyes and peeled off the robe he wore over his clothing leaving himself in just the uniform trousers and shirt. The blond took a moment and straightened his Slytherin tie and called out. "Hey shitty Captain, try not to die!" Sanji said. "You can just stay here, I'll take care of this," Sanji said to the dusty swordsman.
"Like hell," Zoro growled.
Luffy shouted all the names he had learned from Ace and Sabo to describe the nobles that at the troll and struggled to get out of the monster's grip. The troll might even be stronger than his gramps had been. The troll had already sent Zoro flying and Nami was protecting Hermione. It was up to him.
"Put me down you…" Luffy shouted.
"Hey shitty Captain, try not to die!" Luffy turned his head he saw Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway. He blinked in surprise but then what the blond had said hit him.
"Sanji?" Luffy and Nami shouted together.
"Deuxième Hachis!" Sanji shouted as he ran forward and jumped up to kick the troll with legs in the stomach. The troll dropped Luffy with a thump and stumbled backward with a roar of pain and anger.
"Sanji remembers!" Luffy said shooting up from the ground where he landed and launched himself at the blond cook. Sanji whirled around and caught Luffy in the stomach with a foot and growled at the pint-sized captain.
"Knock it off, shitty captain," Sanji growled. "We're in the middle of a fight."
"The love cook is right," Zoro agreed walking up to join Sanji and Luffy. "Troll first, reunion later."
"Shishishishi," Luffy giggled cracking his knuckles. "Let's beat it quick."
"As much as I hate to admit it," Zoro said. "Even as weak as we all are right now, with the three of us we can take it."
Sanji looked at Zoro and scoffed. "And what are you going to do? You don't have your swords, shitty swordsman," Sanji said. "I can beat the shitty troll myself. You're pretty useless."
"I'll show you useless," Zoro snarled stepping up to Sanji. "You haven't even started training again" Zoro's hands automatically went to his waist where his swords would have been but only found empty air.
"Hey, I wanna beat up the troll!" Luffy whined. He was really happy the cook remembered again but he didn't want Sanji stealing the fight for himself.
Across the room, Nami felt his eye twitch dangerously. Of course, the first thing they would do was fight. How could he have imagined anything else? He wasn't even ready to deal with Sanji and Zoro's fights again.
"Would you three shut and up and beat the troll already!?" Nami shouted, his temper getting away from him.
Sanji straightened automatically and wiggled around. "Of course my darling Nami~"
Hermione flinched back at the strange behavior from someone who had previously expressed such a distaste for Ron that made the girl uncomfortable.
Nami felt some of the shock himself. He and Luffy had wondered what Sanji's reaction to Nami's gender change would be but Nami hadn't really expected this.
Still Sanji jumped to do as Nami commanded. The blond, and two brunettes appeared to act without needing to communicate. The monster trio, reunited, was a thing to witness. They attacked together like they had never been apart. Weakened as they were the troll was no match for the three of them. The beast hit the ground with a ground shaking thud. Dust and debris circled through the air making the five students cough and hack.
When the dust finally began to clear a much more frightening sound reached them, far more terrifying than the roar of the troll.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Professor McGonagall shouted. Behind her, a collection of teachers, each one looking shocked and horrified by the five students and the unconscious troll in the middle of the destroyed girl's bathroom.
"Uh," Luffy stammered. "We didn't do it?"
"You didn't do it," Professor McGonagall said slowly looking from student to student.
Luffy nodded hesitantly and jerked his head away to avoid eye contact. Nami slapped a hand over his face and groaned at his captain's stupidity. They were in for it now.