pe i
dires. as they jostled their way through a crowd of fused
hufflepuffs, harry suddenly grabbed rons arm.
”ive just thought -- hermione.”
”what about her?”
”she doesnt know about the troll.”
ron bit his lip.
”ht,” he s percyd better not see us.”
du, they joihe hufflepuffs goiher way,
slipped dowed side corridor, aoward the
girls bathroom. they had just turhe er when they heard
quick footsteps behind them.
”percy!” hissed ron, pulling harry behione griffin.
peering around it, however, they saw snape. he
crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.
”whats he doing?” harry whispered. ”why isnt he down in the
duh the rest of the teachers?”
”search me.”
quietly as possible, they g the corridor after
snapes fading footsteps.
”hes headihird floor,” harry said, but ron held
up his hand.
”ell something?”
harry sniffed and a foul stench reaostrils, a mixture
of old sod the kind of publio oo .
ahey heard it -- a l, and the shuffling
footfalls of giga. rohe end of a passage
to the left, something huge was moving toward them. they shrank
into the shadows a emerged into a patoonlight.
it was a hht. twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull,
gras great lumpy body like a boulder with its small
bald head per top like a ut. it had shs thick
as tree trunks with flat, horhe smell it was
i was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along
the floor because its arms were so long.
the troll stopped o a dooreered i waggled
its l up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into
the room.
”the keys in the lock,” harry muttered. ”we could lo.”