The Halloween Feast was a complete mess, if you asked Arthur. It was too loud and a total waste of the school's resources. Just as everyone was settling in, Professor Quirrell came bursting in, screaming at the top of his lungs about some troll on the loose. But Arthur didn't freak out like all the others. Instead, he calmly put down his goblet, his face as calm and still as ice.
As the prefects guided the Ravenclaws to their tower, Arthur cast the disillusionment charm, but instead of just disappearing, he blended into the shadows of a nearby suit of armor, his hand still tightly grasping his wand, allowing him to remain hidden from view. The darkness seemed to swallow him whole, making it nearly impossible to detect his presence, and he stood there, frozen, waiting to see what would happen next.
Arthur slipped through the halls, quiet as a ghost, and stayed hidden in the shadows of the castle. He made his way to the lavatory on the second floor, and just as he got there, a terrible smell hit him—it was like rotting meat and stagnant swamp water, the stench of the troll.
The situation inside was complete chaos. It was a total disaster from a tactical standpoint. Hermione Granger was shaking like a leaf, hiding under a row of broken sinks. Meanwhile, Harry Potter had wrapped himself around the troll's neck, holding on for dear life like a desperate creature. And Ronald Weasley was frantically waving his wand around, but his movements were wild and uncoordinated, like a scared baby flailing its arms.
Arthur stood in the corner, invisible. He watched the troll raise its club.
"I won't let them hurt these people," Arthur said quietly, his voice muffled by the strange power that surrounded him. "You guys are great at covering things up, so I'm counting on you to help me keep this quiet."
Arthur didn't aim his wand at the troll itself; instead, he carefully pointed it upwards, directly at the ceiling joists that were right above the creature's head, which was a pretty clever move.
He didn't rely on anything fancy or overwhelming. Instead, he opted for a straightforward tranfiguration, focusing on the ceiling above him. With a subtle flick, he altered the composition of the ancient stone, changing it into a heavy metal form, and then he simply waited to see what would happen next.
As Ron shouted out the magic words, the troll's club froze in mid-air, and Arthur quickly waved his wand, taking control of the situation.
The stone above the troll didn't blow up; it just came crashing down. What's really weird is that the stone ceiling somehow changed into a huge chunk of hard iron, weighing nearly two tons, and it fell like a guillotine, super fast and deadly.
It was like the timing couldn't have been better. From where Harry and Hermione were standing, it seemed like the troll's club had suddenly been pulled upwards by Ron's spell, smashing into the ceiling with such force that it brought the whole roof crashing down.
CRACK.
The troll was caught off guard and didn't even have a chance to react. In a split second, the main beam from the ceiling came crashing down, slamming right into its skull. The force was so intense that it crushed the troll's grey brain matter into the floor. Instantly, the creature's body went limp, and it was buried under a huge pile of rubble.
Arthur didn't stick around to see the dust settle. With a quick flick of his wand, he changed the transfigured iron back into its original stone form.
'Perfect cover,' Arthur whispered, slowly stepping back out of the room. 'You'll get all the credit, all the glory,"'he added, his voice laced with a mix of sarcasm and resignation.
As he quickly exited the bathroom, the sound of Professor McGonagall and Snape's hurried footsteps grew louder, echoing down the corridor from a distance. He swiftly moved to a hidden passageway concealed behind a tapestry, where he remained unnoticed, his disillusionment charm still active, allowing him to blend into the surroundings.
When he finally reached the Ravenclaw Common Room, he sat in his usual chair and opened his Arithmancy book.
About an hour had passed when the news started spreading like wildfire—the "Golden Trio" had managed to defeat a mountain troll, and it was all because of a "lucky" accident, a ceiling collapse. But Arthur didn't even bother to look up from the notes he was scribbling, completely absorbed in his own world.
He had already calculated the next phase. He didn't need the glory.
He just needed everyone to focus on Harry Potter so he could secretly start working behind the scenes, unseen and unnoticed, like a ghost.