But sulking or not, Harry and the others still had to attend class. Especially since this was Professor Fawley's Defense Against the Dark Arts.
By the time Harry and Ron rushed over, Hermione was already waiting for them in the Colosseum, looking utterly baffled.
"I always thought she was weird, just like that strange cat of hers!" Ron muttered to Harry, glancing at Hermione, who had turned her head away.
Even though Harry hadn't had any quarrels with Hermione, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"I feel like Hermione must be hiding something from us."
"Pfft, even if we asked her, she wouldn't tell us. She never treated us like friends anyway!"
"...It's pointless—"
"I don't know what you two are whispering about, but if you don't get back to your own teams, I'll make you a team of one and send you to the corner for a whole lesson of whispering."
Tver appeared behind them without warning, wrapping an arm around both as he leaned down to speak.
Startled, the pair flushed bright red and jogged back into the crowd amid their classmates' teasing, joining Hermione. Naturally, sandwiched between them was our Chosen One.
"You've been studying dueling for over half a year now, and you've even 'practiced' quite a few duels in this arena," Tver continued. "So, what are your thoughts?"
"Awesome!" Seamus shouted first.
This was the first time he could use magic freely in class without hiding it—especially his own peculiar brand of magic. In other classes, his explosive talent made him Peeves—a miracle he didn't cause trouble. But in dueling, he was the unstoppable Gryffindor sword of the team!
Professor Fawley had warned him not to get cocky about it, urging him to practice his magic more to avoid mistakes. But winning duels mattered more, didn't it?
The other students, while not quite as excited, still wore broad smiles of satisfaction. After half a year of practice, they clearly felt their abilities had grown. And not just in combat.
Before, their spellcasting was often criticized by Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick for lacking decisiveness and firmness. But now, even the two professors had to admit that with more dueling practice, their casting in other areas of magic had become significantly smoother!
As Professor McGonagall put it, they now met "the standards of fifth-year students before Professor Fawley arrived." This assessment made them look at the current fifth-years with a hint of disdain. Little did they know that, due to a deeper understanding of magical principles, the upperclassmen had made even greater progress than they had...
Tver clapped his hands in satisfaction, silencing their chatter as they shared their thoughts.
"Excellent. I trust you've grasped why I've prioritized dueling in this year's curriculum. However, I now need you to recall something crucial mentioned during the very first lesson of this term—my lesson, of course." He paused, eyeing them. "Do you remember?"
The students exchanged puzzled glances, whispering among themselves about what the professor could possibly mean. How much could they possibly remember from half a year ago?! Besides, their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class this term had been taught by Professor Lupin! If it was about Professor Snape in women's clothing... well, that was etched into their souls...
"Are you referring to the dueling tournament?" Hermione lifted her slightly haggard little face.
"Exactly!" Tver immediately answered loudly.
The students didn't dwell on their failure to answer, their eyes growing brighter as they fixed them on the professor. A dueling tournament! The moment had come to prove they weren't any weaker than the professors!
"Over the next few lessons, you will form teams and participate in an intra-class dueling tournament. Opponents will be randomly assigned by draw, and the competition will proceed through a knockout tournament. Furthermore, this tournament permits the use of any magic learned in class—remember, only what was taught in class. Dark magic is strictly forbidden, including even the most vicious Jinx and Hex."
"Of course, if any student has independently mastered advanced spells typically taught to upperclassmen, their use is permitted." He paused, letting the students digest that. "But be warned: any fatal mistake will end your journey in this tournament. Therefore, treat this with utmost seriousness. Give two hundred percent effort and leave no regrets."
Tver's solemn warning instantly dampened the students' excitement. They exchanged glances with other teams, strategizing how to secure victory if matched against them. The elimination format was somewhat arbitrary; the draw results could easily influence student rankings. But the champion, regardless of opponents, should ultimately prevail.
Moreover, this was the most time-efficient method Tver could devise. Naturally, Hogwarts' dueling tournament could never rival Durmstrang's as the school's premier event. Thus, matches could only occur during class hours, with only the final year-level competition spilling over into the weekend. As for classes... His own lessons barely took up a quarter of the schedule. Naturally, he'd prefer to slack off—er, make things more efficient!
After all, fifth and seventh years had crucial exams to prepare for, and other students' final exams couldn't be delayed.
Once the students accepted the tournament rules and looked at each other with fighting spirit, Tver waved his wand. Instantly, each team's representative names appeared above their heads. Then he waved again into the air. The names immediately swirled together, mixing and blending.
This wasn't truly a draw, as Tver could manipulate the match pairings. But for him, there was absolutely no need to do so, making the pairings genuinely random. Even if Harry didn't want to face Seamus and the others!
Watching Harry's name combine with Seamus's in the air, Ron's face instantly clouded over.
"We're screwed. We're up against Seamus. Just guarding against his magic turning into explosions at random will drain us dry!"
Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently, but a hint of seriousness also appeared on her face.
But Harry's worries extended beyond Seamus and his team—he glanced furtively at Hermione, who was yawning, and Ron, who looked dejected. It wasn't that they were weaker than Seamus, but the unpredictability of fighting Seamus, combined with Ron and Hermione's current state and relationship, left him feeling decidedly uneasy. Especially the latter—he seriously doubted the two wouldn't start fighting each other first during the match...