As he hurried downstairs once again, he spotted Chiro stumbling towards the dining hall. He had run up from the staircase leading to the basement and disappeared at a swift pace around the corner, seemingly not noticing Maca on the second-floor staircase.
"Salutations to the Virtuoso." Maca saluted with a straightened posture while running, and swiftly made his way down the corridor to the basement.
Upon arrival, he caught a whiff of a combination of the scent of unwashed socks for two months and the lingering odor of an old bathroom.
"This odor mixed with the castle's pumpkin scent is truly dreadful."
Maca looked up and saw the giant in the corridor, but it appeared that the giant hadn't noticed him.
"Stupefy!" Maca brandished his wand and cast a Stunning Spell.
"Bang!"
The giant collapsed with a thud, which actually surprised Maca. He recalled from the books that giants had decent resistance to magic; how could it be knocked out so easily?
As Maca pondered, the giant struggled to get up again. It seemed his memory was right; this creature's magical resistance was indeed a prominent trait inherited from giants.
Following that, Maca witnessed the giant's second notable trait—its lack of intellect.
The giant looked around, presumably finding the basement corridor too dim to notice the enemy attacking it. Instead, as if hearing something, it forcefully squeezed through a nearby doorway with its immense strength.
Soon after, Maca heard a piercing scream filled with terror.
"Lower intelligence than I imagined. It seems 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' needs a revision; the description inside is too vague." Maca complained as he hurried toward the source of the commotion.
"Hermione!"
Upon reaching the doorway, Maca immediately spotted Hermione cowering beneath a sink, staring fearfully at the giant who was trembling!
Apparently, the giant hadn't noticed the new addition behind it; it was steadily approaching Hermione, its large club raised and about to strike her. The situation was dire, and there wasn't enough time for a Levitation Charm or anything of the sort.
"Serpensortia!" Hastily, Maca aimed a levitating spell at the giant's club.
The massive wooden club slipped from the giant's hand, barely grazing Hermione's hair as it soared past, bounced off a wall, and landed in the restroom stall, knocking down a large section of the partition.
"Reducto!"
While the giant was still disoriented from losing its club, Maca aimed his wand at the giant's neck and cast a powerful Reductor Curse.
With a resounding bang, a bowl-sized gap appeared at the back of the giant's neck, bloodied and gruesome, revealing shattered vertebrae.
The giant's massive body swayed and then crashed to the ground, its body twitching a few times.
"Phew..." Maca couldn't help but exhale a breath of relief. "If that had hit another part, it probably would have been just a chunk of flesh. No wonder this big guy is known for being tough-skinned!"
"Um... Maca!" Hermione appeared quite frightened, immediately rushing into Maca's embrace.
Feeling the softness of her body against him, Maca's mind couldn't help but mutter, "When did this little girl start developing curves?"
"Cough, it's alright, everything's fine." Sensing the trembling girl in his arms, he temporarily suppressed his wandering thoughts and started comforting her.
Speaking of which, Maca didn't particularly have any special feelings toward this "Miss Know-It-All," even now when she had grown up. But who would reject an actively embracing female lead? Even though the circumstances were a result of something else, it still made Maca feel a bit giddy.
To calm down his stirred emotions, Maca began to mutter something under his breath. Faintly audible were phrases like "three years" and "death penalty," strangely perplexing terms.
Suddenly, the sound of loud footsteps reached them, causing both individuals to raise their heads. Hermione hesitated for a moment, then hastily pushed herself away from Maca's chest, distancing herself as much as possible.
Evidently, the earlier commotion had attracted quite a bit of attention, with the loud crashing sounds and the giant's roars drawing someone over.
"Hermione!" "Maca?"
It was Ron and Harry who arrived, looking astonished at the scene before them, completely oblivious to Hermione's flushed face.
Before they could say anything else, Professor McGonagall burst into the bathroom, followed closely by Professor Snape, with Chiro trailing behind. Chiro cast a weak gaze at the giant, then broke into a fit of powerless sobs, sitting on a toilet, clutching his chest tightly.
Snape walked over to examine the giant, while Professor McGonagall eyed everyone present. Her lips were pale, her eyes wide with rage, evidently in quite a furious state.
"What kind of mischief were you playing at?" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out, icy anger lacing her tone.
Harry and Ron glanced at Maca; he was still standing there, holding his wand.
"You were lucky not to be killed by it! Why weren't you staying quietly in your dormitory?" Professor McGonagall scolded loudly, Maca mused that she truly lived up to being the Head of Gryffindor, her wrath as fierce as the lion on the house emblem.
"Oh..." "Please, Professor McGonagall... he was looking for me."
Just as Maca was about to speak, Hermione interjected.
"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed in surprise. In her memory, Hermione Granger was an exemplary student who followed the rules diligently.
Hermione finally managed to support herself on her weakened knees and struggled to stand up.
"I came to find the giant because I... I thought I could handle it on my own—you know, because I've read about them in books, and I understand them well."
"Oh, Hermione, there's no need for this," Maca shook his head. He had already stood up a while ago.
"Professor, I overheard someone saying on my way to the dining hall that Miss Granger was in the restroom." Maca explained, "She was dealing with something and wasn't in the mood to go to the dining hall, so she stayed here."
"I was just coming to comfort her, you see, she's my friend." Maca spread his hands, wearing a face of innocence, "But who could have anticipated a giant rampaging through Hogwarts?"
"I believe this warrants an investigation." Maca glanced meaningfully at Lockie, who was still crying loudly and continuing his dramatics.
"If that's the case..." Professor McGonagall scrutinized them thoughtfully.
"Mr. McLean, did you use the Reductor Curse to shatter the giant's vertebrae?" Snape asked coldly, giving Harry a disdainful look and then turning to Maca.
Internally, Maca immediately sensed trouble, but he maintained a composed expression while nodding.
"I believe so."
"Hmph, quite a powerful spell, but can you explain where you learned it?" Snape's gaze bore into Maca, his expression dark, "I doubt first-year textbooks include 'curses' of that nature."
Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall looked at the wound on the giant, from which fresh blood was still gushing.
"...I taught myself." Maca had no choice but to reveal the truth.
The situation had been too urgent a moment ago, leaving him no time to consider much. He had subconsciously chosen a suitable spell. At this point, he could only be thankful that he was far from mastering the Unforgivable Curses! Otherwise, if he had carelessly cast an Avada Kedavra, he'd probably be dealing with Dementors at Azkaban.
"Goodness! You do realize you're just a first-year, right?"
It seemed that Professor McGonagall had just come to her senses. She hurried over, turning Maca around to examine him thoroughly. It appeared that she cared more about her student's physical condition than the spell he had used.
"...Maca."
Hermione looked at Maca with a worried expression. She was well aware of the categorization of spells. Curses of the "Unforgivable" category were invariably Dark Magic, and they required intense negative emotions to successfully cast. Even the three Unforgivable Curses were included in this category!
However, different from other "curses," what set the Unforgivable Curses apart was that there was no counter-curse for the Killing Curse and Cruciatus Curse. The Imperius Curse was especially distinct due to its highly disruptive effects; it could entirely control a person's body, mind, and thoughts.
"It's alright, just a bit drained—what I mean is, Professor McLean, you'll need to provide a reasonable explanation for your actions!" Professor McGonagall seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. After realizing the inappropriateness of her response, she quickly composed herself again.
"Um, I suppose I might have rushed things a bit—I mean, I enjoy learning and... well..." At this point, Maca deliberately glanced at Hermione, "I hope I can protect those I care about."
Hermione blushed at his words, while Harry and Ron next to Professor McGonagall didn't react at all. It seemed that the saying "girls mature earlier than boys" had its merits.
Professor McGonagall looked at Maca, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch upward. In her eyes, Maca's demeanor of a little adult was genuinely quite amusing.
On the other hand, Snape looked back and forth between Maca and Hermione without saying a word, his thoughts a mystery.
"Professor McGonagall, if Maca hadn't saved me, I'd probably have been eaten by the giant by now," Hermione pleaded.
"I think we need to discuss the matter of the 'Reductor Curse' with Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said, "However, I must say, I've never seen a first-year student single-handedly defeat a giant. You've earned ten points for Hufflepuff."
"Now, both of you, follow me to the Headmaster's office. As for the rest of you," Professor McGonagall glanced at the others, "you're free to go."
Maca cast a look at the three of them, seemingly composed, and followed Professor McGonagall as she turned to leave. He exited the restroom's door, which now stood in tatters.
"Oh... I'll, uh, deal with this, this big fellow here." Chiro wiped his face while stammering.
Snape gave Harry a cold look, then followed without looking back.
Hermione watched Maca's retreating figure with a worried expression. As for whether Maca would be expelled or not, she had absolutely no idea.
Harry and Ron, however, didn't share such concerns. Or perhaps, they simply didn't think that far ahead.
"What's a 'curse'? It looks really cool!" Ron looked at the motionless giant lying on the ground, the bowl-sized wound looking rather unsettling.
"Yeah! Even that bat who only ever berates people said 'not bad'! Hard to believe." Harry nodded as well.
"He was just being sarcastic about Maca!" Hermione exclaimed loudly.