NOVEL FROG Chapter 45: Suspect
Malfoy felt even happier than if he had just eaten tonight's dessert, tilting his small head proudly. But the next moment, his movement froze.
"Please pay attention, Mr. Troll is coming towards you, so if you don't want to be squashed by it, please deal with it quickly."
Tver stepped aside, allowing the troll to slowly advance towards the ten first-year students.
Though the pace was slow, the vibrations caused by the troll's every footstep were anything but slow, instead, shaking the hearts of the students.
Harry swallowed nervously, forcing himself to stay calm as he emitted the first beam of light. It struck the troll's head accurately, but only caused it to shake its head.
"Hitting the head is useless; although it's a weak point, it's not something your light can harm. So your goal is to hit its eyes."
With Harry's demonstration, the young wizards also frantically emitted beams of light, but the troll slightly turned its head, and three red lights narrowly missed it.
The troll also realized that these little ones were trying to attack its head.
"The troll may be stupid, but not completely brainless, it won't foolishly let you attack!"
The first-year students were experiencing combat training for the first time. They had only dealt with non-resisting light balls before, so facing such a formidable opponent now, they panicked.
However, they were the top ten students for a reason. After several failures, they managed to hit the troll's eyes halfway through its approach.
The intense light coupled with the impact made the troll immediately cover its eyes and howl loudly, but before it could howl for long, Tver froze it again.
"Well done, Mr. Malfoy successfully hit the troll's eyes. Slytherin earns five points!"
Following the example, Tver then guided students from different grades one by one.
Second-year students had limited spells, so under his guidance, they slowed down the troll in batches, attacked its brain and eyes, and finally managed to stun it when it was just an arm's length away.
Third-year students faced more difficulties; they knew more spells but were closer to the troll.
The stench alone made them extremely uncomfortable. If the troll hadn't been slowed down by the spell, they would have been wiped out already. Nevertheless, a few students triggered protective spells.
This made everyone realize the extraordinary function of these badges. After all, their wizarding parents might not even be able to cast a complete Shield Charm!
Their eyes gleamed with excitement as they looked at these badges, some already becoming attached to them but afraid of damaging them.
"Well done, Disarming Charm to send the club flying, then use Levitation Charm and Pressure Charm to control the club, attacking the troll's head. Well done."
As an aside, this solution was proposed by Ron Weasley from outside the field.
As the third-years finally dealt with the troll, the class was nearing its end.
"Now, we invite Mr. Percy Weasley from Gryffindor to demonstrate how to deal with a fully operational troll."
Taking a deep breath, Percy walked slowly forward.
"Are you ready, Percy?"
"Ready."
Waking up the troll and simultaneously lifting the slowing spell on it, Tver handed the stage over to Percy.
In combat mode, Percy's eyes instantly became sharp.
Using Impediment Jinx, Percy mostly targeted the troll's ankle joints, not only effectively slowing down its movements but even causing its knees to buckle, almost making it kneel.
However, after the troll's movements were no longer sluggish, it could block spells by waving its arms, so Percy's attacks weren't as effective as the previous students'.
Realizing this, Percy stopped attacking the head and instead aimed for the troll's armpits!
The students laughed, thinking Percy was acting in desperation. But Tver's expression became serious, valuing this prefect.
The armpits were actually a common weak point for humanoid creatures, with rich nerves, blood vessels controlling the upper limbs, and important lymphatic tissue. Although attacking there might not have particularly good effects, it would certainly be more effective than the troll's thick thighs and body muscles.
Not many wizards knew about this, much like wizards good at mathematics, researching these matters was negligible to magic. Regardless of how Percy knew about it, being able to utilize this point was enough to impress Tver.
Hogwarts had too many precious students!
Taking note of this in his mental notebook, Tver stopped Percy's attacks to prevent him from actually breaking the troll's arm.
"Alright, Mr. Weasley, if you keep going, it won't be something the young wizards can watch."
Percy's observation skills weren't as keen as Tver's, but he also realized that his attacks had unconsciously reached the troll's limit, so he decisively retracted his wand.
The young wizards were somewhat disappointed.
Although they didn't understand the significance of attacking the armpits, Percy's fighting style had a fluidity that was very appealing, fitting their fantasies of themselves.
They couldn't learn from Professor Fawley, but they could surely learn from Percy!
"Well, a big thank you to Percy for bringing us the final lesson of the class. Attacking the joints with the Impediment Jinx is more effective than attacking any other part; that's the greatest benefit of magic. You can also think about what other spells can achieve maximum effectiveness. This isn't homework, just something to ponder. So, tonight's class ends here. Please follow Percy back to your common rooms in an orderly manner."
"Professor, what about this troll?" a young wizard who had just participated in the battle asked, still eager for more.
"Of course, we'll leave it to Professor Quirrell. He quite enjoys these smelly things, doesn't he?" Tver winked mischievously.
The students chuckled and left the basement.
The professors gathered around at this point.
"An excellent class indeed. Students from different years can have different lesson content. It's hard to believe that you, so young, have such a vast reservoir of knowledge," Professor McGonagall exclaimed, reminiscing about her own days when, despite her good grades, she lacked practical experience, often relying solely on textbooks. It took her years as a professor to realize the importance of tailoring lessons to individual students, as Tver did tonight.
"You're too kind," Tver said disdainfully, casting a glance at the troll. "Speaking of which, tonight's content is already beyond the curriculum. I wonder how much the students really learned."
Normally, creatures like trolls wouldn't be taught until the fourth year, but opportunities like this were rare. Tver didn't even know where Quirrell found this one, but it was certainly a valuable addition. And tonight's class was ostensibly to buy Quirrell time, diverting some of the professors' attention so he could investigate the setup inside.
But in reality, it was to raise more suspicion on Quirrell! It's one thing for a troll to wander in before Halloween, but a comatose professor waking up and disappearing without a trace?
If you're not the suspect, who else?