Hermione's actions gave Professor McGonagall, who had no idea what to say, a perfect excuse to de-escalate the situation.
Originally, the appearance of a troll running loose in the school was a clear safety breach. Even if the troll had been part of a puzzle game, meant to create a minor obstacle for Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's encounter, it was still a serious issue.
But the troll had escaped from the dungeon, and that changed everything. It would cause many children from pure-blood families to feel unsafe, followed by a flood of complaint letters that would drown the headmaster's office.
"I must say, you're a brave girl, but don't do anything like that again."
Realizing that the school would likely place all the blame on this child, Professor McGonagall felt a pang of guilt.
"I think your courage deserves ten points for Gryffindor."
With a little personal bias, Professor McGonagall added points to her own house. But at that moment, even Professor Snape had no objections.
Professor McGonagall led her Gryffindor students back to the dormitory, leaving Professors Snape and Quirrell to handle the aftermath.
If Harry Potter had acted as impulsively and recklessly as he did in the original timeline, yet still managed to win in the end, Professor Snape would certainly have prepared a long, detailed list of how to deal with the troll. But now that Harry was safe, Snape had no interest. After all, wasn't Professor Quirrell still there? Let him deal with it.
With a swish of his cloak, Snape disappeared down the corridor like a bat in the night.
Professor Quirrell stared at the fallen troll in a daze. The chaos he had originally planned hadn't unfolded as expected. Even the girls' bathroom hadn't been damaged. A first-year student had taken down the troll with just a Levitation Charm.
Something that seemed normal felt oddly out of place. Shivering slightly, Quirrell left the scene as well.
Now, not a soul remained on the second floor. Who knew which professor would be left to deal with the troll? Its stench really was unpleasant.
Quick, use the Levitation Charm, hum-hum ha-he!
Quick, use the Levitation Charm, hum-hum ha-he!
Wizards, remember well—magic is invincible!
Who's using magic? The club floats in the air!
Quick, use the Levitation Charm, hum-hum ha-he!
Quick, use the Levitation Charm, hum-hum ha-he!
If I had magic, I'd leap over rooftops!
Want to vanish? Just vanish—Invisibilis, hmph!
Humming a cheeky, nonsensical parody of lyrics, Regulus Black released his Invisibilis spell and reappeared.
In the original story, Hermione's crying had attracted the troll released by Quirrell from the dungeon. Harry's reckless bravery nearly got him killed, and Ron's luck saved them both. That event was the key catalyst in forming the golden trio.
But now, with Regulus Black's interference, Hermione had showcased the competence of a top student, taking full initiative in subduing the troll. The two boys were mere bystanders, not even getting a chance to participate. Could the dynamics between the three remain the same?
That little Hermione really did have a great personality!
Now then… what should he do with this troll?
Maybe send it to the Hogwarts kitchen and see what the house-elves could cook up?
Then again, thinking about the troll's awful stench… better not.
In most fanfics, it's believed that one of the trials in Harry Potter's final gauntlet was the troll, assigned by Quirrell. But that wasn't in the movie, and Regulus Black didn't believe it either.
The reason was simple: if the troll were one of the trials, then Quirrell wouldn't have needed to pass Fluffy—the three-headed dog—at all. Trolls, as magical creatures, required care and feeding. Some fan theories suggested there was a feeding tunnel, but if that were the case, Quirrell could've just bypassed the earlier obstacles altogether.
The first trial—Fluffy—was cared for by Hagrid.
The second—Devil's Snare—was overseen by Professor Sprout, and being a plant, didn't require constant maintenance.
The later challenges—flying keys, wizard's chess, Snape's potions—were all inanimate. Once set up, they needed no upkeep.
Adding a troll to such a setup? Ridiculous.
"So that means, the troll has nothing to do with the later trials."
After analyzing the situation, Regulus Black confidently came to a conclusion. The troll in front of him was already getting up, retrieving its massive club and glaring angrily at him.
"In that case! Let my [Molten Golem of Claystone] gain a bit more vitality!"
With a wave of his hand, a torrent of black sand surged toward the troll, flooding into its body through every orifice. Before his eyes, the grey troll gradually turned pitch black from head to toe.
And that wasn't all—its form began morphing. As it fully blackened, its appearance shifted into that of a lava beast.
Finally, when the molten beast—now occupying the entire bathroom—stabilized its form, it disintegrated again into black sand and was absorbed by Regulus Black's skill system.
Just as he stepped out of the girls' bathroom, the other house heads arrived one by one after settling the students.
"Where's the troll?"
Professor Flitwick, waving his wand and rushing forward with his little legs, was the first to arrive on the scene.
"You're late, Professor Flitwick! You probably didn't expect the troll to be taken down by a student. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Quirrell were already here earlier. But they didn't have time to deal with the troll since they were focused on protecting the students. I arrived shortly after—there's no creature that smells worse than a troll, so I burned it to ashes."
Regulus Black, maintaining his usual elegance, spoke calmly to the professors who had arrived afterward.
The lingering stench in the air and the black, ash-like sand on the floor were clear evidence that the troll had indeed been incinerated.
After a round of mutual reminders and brief discussions, the professors all returned to their respective offices.
Regulus Black also made his way back to the Room of Requirement.
During the earlier incident with the troll, an idea had suddenly struck Regulus—he'd thought of a way to deal with Voldemort's Horcruxes. If he wanted to make use of the Horcruxes again, he would have to properly handle the soul fragments inside. Those were fragments of Voldemort's soul, after all—a tyrannical force in the wizarding world, something most would avoid at all costs.
Regulus Black's cheat-like advantage upon crossing into this world was the system from Diablo II. Among the many items in that game, there was a special quest item: the Soulstone.
In the game's lore, Soulstones were used to seal the three Prime Evils. Could Voldemort be compared to one of them? Of course not. But there was a similarity: both Voldemort and the Prime Evils had been reduced to mere soul fragments.
According to the game's lore, Soulstones came in three colors—red, yellow, and blue: Red Nightmare, Golden Memory, and Blue Remains. To create a Soulstone—or something similar—the current magical laws of the wizarding world needed to be close in nature.
Taking into account various magical spells and the features of his own system, Regulus Black had already figured out how to craft a Soulstone.
The first step was to establish a proper configuration. Every item crafted through his system required reconfiguration—this was a carryover from the time he used a game modifier, a feature that had followed him even after death.
Voldemort's Soul Fragment Gem
When kept in the inventory, provides additional passive benefits.
Can be used to embed soul fragments into magical creatures.
Can sacrifice a soul fragment to summon demonic power.
Allows the summoning of a follower: [Voldemort], using the soul fragment.
+7% increase in Soulstone capacity with each additional soul fused.
77% chance to obtain an extra magical item.
77% chance to summon an additional magical creature.
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