Harry Potter: Is It Normal for a Hogwarts Professor to Be a Dark Lord?

The Great Hall.

The holiday feast was always the most anticipated moment at Hogwarts, even on the eerie Halloween night.

To suit the occasion, the Great Hall was meticulously decorated:

- Professor McGonagall used Transfiguration to stretch out numerous skeletons and ghosts on the walls.

- Professor Flitwick released thousands of live bats, which flew around the walls and ceiling of the Great Hall.

- Hagrid "planted" a batch of huge pumpkins, hollowed out to make pumpkin lanterns. If it weren't for the large candles inside, many couples might have been tempted to sneak inside for a pumpkin-themed date.

Tver also cast a small spell, causing many bizarre ghosts to float at the top of the Great Hall.

However, unlike the castle's ghosts, they were more like bedsheet ghosts from Muggle films. It's more cute and funny than scary.

"These little ghosts hold the rewards I've prepared for you. Like in the Light Ball game, when you hit them, they will drop candies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, colorful lights flew out from the tables, shooting towards the ceiling. But a second later, the young wizards regretted it.

After the little ghosts were shattered, candies rained down like a storm, pattering onto their heads.

The young wizards immediately ran around in panic, using their schoolbags as shields, shaking like cute little mice stalked by a cat.

Except for Quirrell, the professors sat at the staff table, watching the chaotic scene with glee, emitting wicked laughter.

After a while, all the little ghosts were shattered, and the candies stopped falling.

"Haha," Dumbledore stood up, unable to contain his laughter, "Thank you very much, Professor Fawley, for bringing us this little game before the feast. Now, let the feast begin!"

Ron, who had been busy picking up candies, only now noticed that the table, previously strewn with candies, was now piled high with a variety of delicious dishes, as sumptuous as the start-of-term feast.

Harry picked up a few candies but soon stopped, opting to sample the food instead.

"These candies are actually soft, a bit like fruit-flavored gummies."

Ron stuffed the candies he had collected into his schoolbag, patting it with a satisfied expression.

"I'll save them. This might be the only time I get a reward from Professor Fawley."

As soon as he said this, the hands of the students around him, who had been unwrapping candies, froze. Especially the older students, who hurriedly stuffed every visible candy into their bags, sparking some disputes.

In their imagination, these candies were specially prepared for them by Professor Fawley!

"Compared to candies, I'd rather have one of those little ghosts, they're so cute~"

A Slytherin senior tightly held two candies, her rewards for shattering one of the adorable little ghosts.

As all the candies disappeared in a flash, the students turned their attention back to the feast's dishes.

"Now that annoying Granger not only can't have the feast but also missed out on the candies," Ron said gleefully.

Hermione's roommate, Lavender Brown, frowned disapprovingly.

"Don't say that about Hermione. She's hiding in the girls' bathroom crying!"

Ron scratched his head in confusion. "Crying? Why would she cry?"

"Because of you guys! Always talking bad about her behind her back. She's not usually very happy in the dormitory."

"But her words... it's hard not to find her annoying," Ron retorted.

"Well," Lavender stumbled for words, "she means well for us, just a bit too straightforward in her speech."

"You call that—"

*Bam!*

The doors of the Great Hall suddenly burst open with a loud bang. Quirrell rushed in, his scarf askew and his hat almost falling off, nearly exposing the back of his head.

He ran up to Dumbledore, adjusted his hat, and said anxiously, "There's a troll in the basement—I... I thought you should know."

With that, he glanced at Tver, then collapsed with a creak.

The Great Hall erupted into chaos. Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, but before they could say anything, someone voiced their thoughts.

"Hermione is in the girls' bathroom in the basement, what are we going to do?!" Lavender exclaimed, her face marked with red streaks from her anxious scratching.

Harry and Ron didn't feel like mocking her at that moment because they felt just as terrified!

"Professor! We need help from the professors!" Harry immediately had an idea. "Professor Fawley is so powerful, he can definitely deal with the troll and rescue Hermione!"

Ron agreed immediately and, squeezing through the panicking crowd, they made their way to the staff table, where Tver was assessing Quirrell.

Harry took a deep breath and urgently said, "Professor Fawley, Hermione is still in the basement! Please go and save her, or she'll die!"

"Trust me, Hermione will be fine."

Tver approached Dumbledore, who was preparing to maintain order, and whispered to him, "Headmaster, I want to take the students to the basement and teach them a lesson using the troll."

Dumbledore turned to him in surprise. "Dealing with a troll is one thing, but can you guarantee the safety of the students?"

Teaching students to defend against dangerous creatures was part of the Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum, but using a troll as a teaching tool was unheard of.

"I can assure you that the students will not be harmed at all. On the contrary, facing such a huge opponent, the students might not encounter one for seven years."

After pondering for a moment, Dumbledore asked, "In that case, will you be taking the older students?"

Tver gestured towards Quirrell still lying on the ground.

"Forget it, isn't Professor Quirrell responsible for the older students over there?"

Dumbledore smiled helplessly. "Alright, I'll have Percy take the students below third year to the basement."

Satisfied, Tver left to make preparations, ensuring that the troll would be obedient to some extent.

Leaving the Great Hall, Tver strode purposefully towards the basement. It was as gloomy and cold as it had been when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

So, he placed torches along the corridor and stairs leading to the basement, illuminating the way and dispelling the bone-chilling cold.

Just as he finished setting everything up, he heard a frightened scream.

The troll had arrived!

Following the sound, he arrived at the front of a girls' bathroom. The door had been destroyed, and the chanting from inside flowed out unimpeded.

Peering inside, he saw a massive creature standing at the entrance of the bathroom, wielding an equally large wooden club.

It stood a towering twelve feet tall, with skin as gray and solid as granite. However, in contrast, its head was comically small, resembling a dull bean.

Its flat, thickly calloused feet seemed to be pressed down by something invisible, making it extremely difficult for it to take a step forward.

Meanwhile, Hermione was crouched in a corner, gripping her wand tightly and continuously releasing bursts of magic at the troll creature.

Whether out of fear or due to the intense magical exertion, her determined face was pale, and sweat dripped continuously from her forehead.