...

He could feel his breath quicken as he wordlessly cast off a spell to undo the binding currently covering his body, yet to his further surprise, he found it about as helpful as every spell he'd used on the troll standing before him.

Well, aside from the last one at any rate. The one that was going to give him more than a headache and a half the following morning.

And he hadn't even successfully cast it. Considering all he'd managed to do was undo the mind-control the beast had already been under.

He shuddered to think of the consequences of successfully casting the weakest of the Unforgivable spells.

Still, despite the clear confusion that seemed to fill the frozen troll that had been mere moments from crushing his head, Rodrick angled his wand arm towards the base of the beast's tree-like feet. His wince at forcing his arm to move ignored.

"Expulso!" He shouted out, mildly watching as the spell rebounded off the troll's feet onto his own body, pushing himself towards the other frozen first years. His body slid, uncomfortably, on the cracked floor.

The lack of any sound a clear indication that they couldn't be bothered to run.

Honestly, did everyone in the castle have a deathwish? Or was it just the people he'd chosen to surround himself with?

He wasn't sure which of the two options was better.

"Rodrick!" Daphne, on him having reached them, promptly reached out to help him stand. Clear panic still showing through her eyes, eyes she had focused on him.

As opposed to the troll.

He wasn't sure whether to be flattered or worried.

It took a moment further before he finally noticed the fact the troll hadn't chosen to yet make a move-

His eyes widened the slightest as he felt the after-effects of the stunner he'd been subjected to promptly wear off.

"...Harry, we really should be-"

"Do finish that sentence, Weasley." Another voice echoed throughout the hall, freezing them in their places.

"Ee-" Whatever else Weasley had intended to say died off.

Jumping up to his feet, wand at the ready, Rodrick immediately pointed it towards the newcomer- Only to blink owlishly at the sight of his head of house slowly walking towards the five of them with a scowl on his face.

Turning his gaze the slightest towards the man's entourage, Rodrick promptly found out exactly why the troll had chosen to finally stop harassing them.

You know, besides the whole been under another's Imperius.

Just behind his head of house, with equally unreadable faces- At least if one chose to ignore Snape's reaction to Potter. Stood both, the head of Gryffindor, and the headmaster of the castle.

"I do believe, you were all instructed to go back to your dorms," Dumbledore spoke calmly as he walked towards them. Harry and Ron, thankfully, just ahead of him, Daphne and the muggle-born he'd risked his life for.

Which frankly, if he wasn't going to get punished for by the headmaster, he was certainly going to hear about it from the man's former friend.

He really didn't look forward to that particular conversations.

"Not chasing after trolls." Snape followed the headmaster's words with his own, his gaze locked onto, surprise surprise, Harry Potter.

"...I just wanted to go to the bathroom..." Daphne's whisper, admittedly, almost caused him to snort.

Still, that was the moment Hermione Granger proved herself a Gryffindor. Her gaze had, for a moment, shifted between the rest of them before steeling herself before the headmaster.

"It was my fault professor, I-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Daphne's shout, admittedly, took him by surprise. "Of course it's not your fault!"

Hermione, for a moment, looked to have jumped out of her skin. Her eyes blinking owlishly as whatever excuse she'd been about to give died down.

"You were only there because of those two idiots!"

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about the girl's willingness to throw innocents under the bus-

"Is that right?"

He could practically feel his body shiver at the sight of the smile that suddenly took over the Potion Professor's face.

"... Fortunately for miss Granger, I don't remember seeing you three at the hall." Minerva Mcgonogall chose that moment to speak up, her gaze locking onto the three of them. "I don't imagine you would've known about the troll's small adventure."

Speaking of said troll, Rodrick's eyes suddenly shifted towards the massive creature when it suddenly opened its mouth? A streak of unknown sounds or something of the like echoed out across the small hallway. The sound itself unknown to his ears, yet even he could tell what the troll meant due to its sudden actions.

In that, it simply chose to turn around on the spot and promptly walk off in the other direction. The professors themselves either not caring about the fact, or merely too focused on them specifically. Well, besides the headmaster at any rate. The man's eyes followed the troll as it moved.

"As for Mr. Potter, and Weasley, I am very disappointed you chose to ignore the headmaster's direct order-"

"They only came here because they were worried about her," Rodrick chose to suddenly blurt out, the slightest bit surprised at himself though not showing it, as he indicated the bushy-haired girl still blinking owlishly towards him.

"...Be that as it may..." The Transfiguration Professor continued, undeterred. "Ten points will be removed for each of you, for disobeying a professor. And putting, not only your lives but those of your houses at stake. What if that troll had followed any of you back towards your dorms?" Despite the question, the woman didn't even give the others a chance to answer, instead finishing off her words with the promise of detention.

Harry Potter, seemed to take the words pretty hard, while Ron Weasley chose to argue the unfairness of it.

Admittedly, he found himself agreeing.

Direct orders or not, the fact a troll had been within the vicinity of a school full of children in the first place showed a complete lack of foresight on the professor's part.

Really, he couldn't even blame them.

Still, with the two Gryffindor's punishments out of the way, the professor's promptly turned towards him.

"I take it, Miss Greengrass merely found herself at an inopportune place tonight?" Minerva continued, turning her gaze towards his friend. The girl herself, wordlessly, nodded to the question.

"Then, I suppose, it leaves you, Rodrick. I do believe the boy's bathroom isn't even on this floor,"

He blinked once.

"I was just stalking her," He deadpanned, idly pointing towards the green-eyed girl beside him. "The troll didn't like that,"

For a moment, he could've sworn he saw the hint of a smile on the older man's face.

Idly turning towards said girl, he found an incredulous expression on her face. One that lasted moments before she chose to speak up. "He wasn't doing that! He was just- Um..."

"Keeping an eye out for her," Rodrick deadpanned, earning a quick nod from his fellow housemate.

"Right!"

"Her head tends to find itself in the clouds."

"Exactly- Hey!"

"You felt the need to follow her all the way towards the girl's bathroom? I don't recall there being anything else in this corner of the castle." To his surprise, it wasn't the Transfiguration professor that asked.

It was the headmaster.

"...Yes?"

The old man nodded.

"How fortunate then, that you were there."

"...I didn't really do much."

His gaze swapped between the three adults and his year mates, almost impulsively.

And then, the final bombshell of the night dropped.

He'd been certain, up until then, that the man himself had only shown up mere moments after that debacle had figuratively ended.

"Oh, I wouldn't put it quite that way." The man remarked, his eyes glinting as he locked gazes with him. "That is a powerful enchantment to break,"

He barely held back his eyes from reacting to the words, the barest hint of them narrowing as he stared at the man before him.

It was only then that he realized that the man could probably speak troll.

The beast hadn't merely given his goodbyes... He'd evidently told the older wizard something in secret.

"...It was either that or let it smash my head in..." He found himself remarking passively. His gaze lowered.

"I am, of course, glad to see your common sense prevailed." The man remarked amicably, his eyes, despite the tense situation, looked alarmingly too kind for their own good.

Or maybe he was just biased?

"Still, I do believe it's time for bed. I am sure you've all had enough excitement for one day,"

He opened his mouth to speak, only to immediately close it as the man before them continued. Once again surprising him.

"Ten points will be awarded to Slytherin, for the both of you for your bravery,"

"I didn't do anything!" Daphne, to his and Snape's irritation, chose to speak up. "He did all the work!" She followed on, blatantly pointing towards him.

He seriously had to ask the girl to stop pointing things like that out.

It wasn't good for his crumbling sanity. Or whatever was left of it at any rate.

Yet, the headmaster would have none of it.

"Magic, alone, can only do so much. Sometimes, mere words could help someone far more,"

Daphne, of course, turned red out of the sudden words. Her embarrassment? Or shy nature evident.

Yet, all he did was narrow his eyes.

How, exactly, had the headmaster known that if-

His somber mood turned sour as it finally clicked in place.

His grandfather had been right after all.

The man clearly saw nothing wrong with invading the personal spaces of one's mind.

"Severus, I do believe it's time Miss Greengrass and-" The man blinked, either finally noting the lack of a second name or- "Rodrick found themselves back in their dorms." -he'd temporarily forgotten his only name in the first place.

Snape, unsurprisingly, didn't react. Instead electing to start marching towards their dungeons. His unsaid order clear for them to see.

Daphne promptly fell in line, though not before whispering something to Granger. The words too quiet for him to hear.

While he himself, instead chose to take a moment to decide whether he ought to inform the headmaster of the full story or not.

Given he knew for a fact the man couldn't have gotten it from his head. No thanks to his grandfather's shenanigans with what was probably blood magic...

He hadn't told him exactly what was protecting his mind. The imprisoned man having merely informed him of its existence.

"The troll..." His gaze lowered itself back to the floor.

"Yes, Rodrick?" The headmaster didn't skip a beat, his gaze zeroing in on him immediately.

Holding in the urge to gulp, and hardening his resolve. Rodrick locked eyes with the man directly.

"I was standing outside the bathroom. I made to go in only after the troll had shown up," And before the old man could say whatever it was that had filled his mind at his words, Rodrick pushed on ahead. "I- we would've run a lot sooner... If we'd seen it coming,"

The headmaster didn't bat an eyelid as he nodded.

"It was hidden from your sight?"

He tipped his head in agreement. "And the rest of our senses. By the time we'd realized it was there, it was almost too late."

The old man nodded again, without so much as a twitch to his face.

He wasn't entirely sure why that irritated him, but it did.

'Honestly, you'd think he'd be more alarmed by what had gone down.' He couldn't help the thought as he continued. "...The same one that probably let it loose-" He stated carefully, his mind warring with itself on speaking as he forged on ahead. "Immobilised and threw me towards it-"

It was slight, and frankly instant, but for a moment he noticed the sudden shift in the headmaster's demeanor.

He'd spent the past half of his life learning under his, admittedly, somewhat scary grandfather.

Yet, no two words had ever terrified him as much as the ones that had left the headmaster.

"I see."

Despite the obvious attempt at his life, he almost felt bad for the damned wizard (or witch) that had tried to set him up.

"Professors," The elder man turned towards his two fellows, "I shall join you in a jiffy. Though for now, I insist that the students be escorted back to their dorms."

It was admittedly telling that the professors didn't even deign to respond. He, as well as the other first years, all started following their prospective heads of house, while the headmaster stayed glued to the floor, his gaze turning and latching onto... As far as he could tell, visibly nothing.

Though, it certainly didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Or maybe it just took someone with a history of Disillusionment charms?

Still, if only to calm his own nerves, he promptly sped up on his way towards the dungeon. Professor Snape either not noticing, or not at all caring about the fact given he'd let him pass him. Daphne, practically on his heel.

...

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