Princess Hermione had miraculously survived the assassination attempt arranged by her wicked stepmother.
Not only had she escaped death, but she had also fled across the sea and arrived in Britain, where she enrolled at Hogwarts under a hidden identity.
According to Seamus's increasingly unhinged version of events, Hermione studied so obsessively because she wanted to grow stronger and one day reclaim her stolen kingdom.
Unfortunately, the evil queen eventually discovered that Hermione was still alive.
Fearing the protection Hogwarts could offer, the wicked stepmother secretly dispatched a terrifying troll to assassinate the final heir before she could regain her throne.
But at the most dangerous and dramatic moment—
A hero appeared.
"Logan Anderson!" Seamus shouted dramatically while standing on top of a bench inside the Great Hall. "The rising star of Gryffindor stepped forward without fear!"
He pointed towards the ceiling as though delivering the climax of an epic stage play.
"Like a divine warrior descending from heaven, Logan shattered the evil queen's conspiracy, defeated the monstrous troll, and saved Princess Hermione from certain death!"
By this point, Seamus was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Logan is our hero!"
He raised a goblet triumphantly.
Apparently wanting to match the atmosphere, Seamus attempted to cast a spell on his pumpkin juice so it would transform into something stronger and more heroic before he drank it in one dramatic gulp.
Unfortunately, the spell backfired instantly.
BANG!
The goblet exploded in his hand.
Seamus's hair immediately transformed into some horrifying burnt-orange disaster sticking up in every direction while soot covered half his face.
The surrounding Gryffindors burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Logan sat nearby in complete silence while staring blankly at Seamus.
He genuinely felt tears threatening to form.
What was this madness?
Hermione was suddenly a runaway princess from a distant kingdom now?
And the troll had apparently been sent by her evil stepmother?
Although…
Logan reluctantly admitted the "hero who commands wind and rain" part sounded fairly cool.
Still, the entire thing was absurd.
The truly terrifying part was that huge numbers of students actually believed Seamus's story. Some younger Gryffindors had already begun discussing ways to assassinate Hermione's imaginary stepmother so they too could become legendary heroes of Hogwarts.
One idiot starts talking.
A hundred idiots immediately believe him.
Did these people have mashed potatoes where their brains should be?
And the worst part?
Seamus's version wasn't even the craziest one anymore.
Neville's newest retelling had somehow escalated into full fantasy mythology involving cursed bloodlines, ancient prophecies, and a dragon-riding rebellion army.
Logan genuinely wanted to silence both of them permanently.
.....
As the female lead of last night's incident, Hermione's popularity had skyrocketed almost overnight due to Logan's overwhelming fame.
Unfortunately, she now found herself trapped in an incredibly awkward situation.
Thanks to Seamus and Neville's wildly exaggerated storytelling, some girls had actually begun treating Hermione like a genuine exiled princess.
Several younger students even approached her during breakfast and solemnly declared they would stand beside her against the "evil queen."
Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But compared to the other problem…
That was manageable.
Because while some girls admired her, others were openly jealous.
Or more specifically—
Jealous that Logan had protected her.
Quite a few female students had become completely obsessed with Logan after hearing the troll story. Somewhere behind the scenes, they had apparently already formed a ridiculous unofficial fan club dedicated entirely to him.
On the surface, they praised him constantly.
In reality, every single one of them clearly wanted to become closer to him themselves.
Hermione saw through them immediately.
A bunch of shameless women.
Because rumours linking her and Logan together had already circulated before this incident, Seamus and Neville's stories only made things worse. Many girls were now fully convinced that Hermione and Logan shared some kind of romantic relationship.
And naturally—
That made Hermione public enemy number one.
Throughout the entire morning, Hermione could constantly hear sarcastic whispers nearby.
"Oh look, the princess is here."
"Guess troll slayers really do prefer bossy girls."
"I heard Logan carried her in his arms…"
Hermione originally thought those comments would make her furious.
Strangely enough…
They didn't.
In fact, she found herself secretly pleased.
Go ahead and stay jealous, she thought smugly while calmly sipping pumpkin juice. Maybe if you keep guessing long enough, you'll accidentally stumble onto the truth yourselves.
With that thought, Hermione continued enjoying breakfast in an unusually good mood.
At Hogwarts, exciting stories always spread at terrifying speed.
By lunchtime, the tale of Logan killing the troll had already spread from Neville's dormitory throughout Gryffindor House, then to Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and eventually all the way into Slytherin.
Including directly into Draco Malfoy's ears.
At the Slytherin table, Malfoy sat staring blankly at the bread on his plate.
He had completely lost his appetite.
No—
The pain in his chest was so severe it almost felt physical.
The fact that Logan killed a troll honestly didn't bother him that much. Deep down, Malfoy had already developed a bizarre level of confidence in Logan's abilities.
In his mind, someone like Logan accomplishing ridiculous feats was practically normal.
No.
What truly devastated him was realising what he had missed.
Last night, he had noticed Harry and Ron sneaking away.
He had even gone directly to Dumbledore and reported them in hopes they'd get caught and punished.
But now he knew the truth.
Harry and Ron had been running to help Logan.
If he had followed them instead…
If he had stood beside Logan during the troll battle…
If they had fought together—
Everything would have changed.
Not only would it have repaired the misunderstandings between them, but he and Logan would have forged an unbreakable bond through life-and-death combat.
A legendary story would have been born.
The two of them battling a troll side by side while everyone watched in awe.
Naturally, Hermione was completely removed from Malfoy's fantasy version of events.
In his imagination, he and Logan became inseparable partners who travelled through the magical world together while accomplishing countless legendary feats.
Malfoy had even already invented a title for them.
"The Peerless Duo."
Just thinking about it made him feel absurdly happy.
And then the happiness immediately transformed back into agony.
Because none of it had happened.
Instead, Hermione Granger was the one who shared that unforgettable experience with Logan.
Malfoy suddenly felt like he had personally thrown away a winning lottery ticket.
Why didn't I follow them?
Why did I run off to tell the professors instead?
Malfoy nearly wanted to slap himself.
You absolute idiot.
...
Inside the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore calmly picked up something from a silver dish and placed it into his mouth.
Cockroach Clusters.
A bizarre wizarding sweet loved by almost nobody except him.
At least in Dumbledore's opinion, they were delicious.
Professor McGonagall watched him happily crunch through handful after handful of candy while the faint sound of crackling sugar echoed around the office.
Her eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.
Honestly, no matter how many times she witnessed this scene, she still found it deeply disturbing.
At least she personally considered any sweet named "Cockroach Clusters" to be horrifying.
.....
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