CHAPTER TEN
berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest
and had no way to escape.
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stu-
pid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms
around the troll’s neck from behind. The troll couldn’t feel Harry
hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of
wood up its nose, and Harry’s wand had still been in his hand when
he’d jumped — it had gone straight up one of the troll’s nostrils.
Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with
Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to
rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.
Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his
own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard him-
self cry the first spell that came into his head: “Wingardium
Leviosa!”
The club flew suddenly out of the troll’s hand, rose high, high
up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sicken-
ing crack, onto its owner’s head. The troll swayed on the spot and
then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room
tremble.
Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was
standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had
done.
It was Hermione who spoke first.
“Is it — dead?”
“I don’t think so,” said Harry, “I think it’s just been knocked out.”
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll’s nose. It was
covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.
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