Soon, the roster for the class competition was finalized, and Tver moved briskly to organize the venue.
With so many students competing in teams, even if he took over every Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, there would still be no way to finish all the matches before exam month arrived.
So he conjured a golden membrane, dividing the dueling arena into seven sections, just enough to accommodate everyone at once.
As for whether the space was too small and might limit the students' performance—that was overthinking it. Even with his guidance, how much could third-year students really manage?
After assigning each team to its designated area, Tver used black cloth to separate them from their opponents. Once everything was in place, he raised his voice and delivered his final instructions.
"Victory will be decided when all opposing team members are disarmed, stunned, petrified, or otherwise rendered unable to move or fight."
"In other words, if any of their teammates still have the strength to lift a counter-curse or continue fighting, the match goes on."
"After the first round, seven teams will remain. That means in the second round, one team will receive a bye and enjoy a full period of rest in the next class."
"Only the team that defeats its opponents the fastest will earn that privilege."
"So don't go easy on your classmates~"
After confirming that the protective measures within the golden membrane were fully secured, Tver glanced around. Every student was watching him with bright, eager eyes, anticipation thick in the air.
"Enough talk. On the count of three, the black cloth will fall, and the match will begin."
Harry hurriedly wiped the sweat from his palms, tightened his grip on his holly wand, and took a deep breath.
As for Hermione and Ron, their barely concealed hostility toward each other was what truly made him nervous…
"Three—"
"Just saying, don't you dare drag us down," Hermione said, lifting her wand.
"Two—"
"What a joke. Harry and I work together perfectly. If it weren't for the two of us, you'd—" Ron cut himself off mid-sentence.
"One—"
"So you still have to rely on me!" Hermione declared smugly, firing off a flash of red light.
In her calculation, the instant the black cloth fell, the spell would shoot straight across the center line and secure the opening strike.
"Begin!"
As expected, the moment the black cloth dropped, Seamus's side was caught off guard.
The professor had mentioned this tactic before, but actually pulling it off was far too difficult. Their spellcasting wasn't stable enough; the timing was always off, either too fast or too slow. There was no way to calculate it precisely.
After a brief moment of chaos, they were immediately forced onto the defensive.
Ron, on the other hand, looked anything but pleased. He puffed out his cheeks and hid behind Harry, leaving Harry to block the incoming spells.
Then, from behind cover, Ron snapped off a sharp Stunning Spell that nearly struck their strongest opponent, Seamus.
"See? If it weren't for Harry, do you think you could attack this comfortably?!" he shot back indignantly.
Harry struggled to maintain his Shield Charm, hands full, wishing he could turn around and punch both of them.
I'm the one doing the attacking here!
As if hearing his thoughts, Seamus and the others noticed something odd about their opponents.
"Two attackers and one defender. Harry Potter alone can't possibly hold off Seamus's magic," Padma Patil analyzed quickly.
"So we leave the offense to Seamus and focus everything on Potter. They'll be the first to fall."
Michael Corner didn't even bother responding. He immediately began interfering with Harry's movements, deliberately sending spells wide to draw Harry's attention.
Of course, it was also possible he genuinely missed…
Either way, Harry's attention was pulled away.
Given Hermione and Ron's current state, Harry had taken on full defensive duty. He couldn't help worrying that one of those stray spells might hit them.
What he didn't see was that the two of them had already, without a word, taken shelter neatly behind his back…
Ron casually fired back a spell, then frowned at Hermione.
"Aren't you always bragging about how strong you are? Then why are you hiding back here?!"
"Then why are you hiding?" Hermione snapped back, returning both the spell and the accusation.
"Because I'm not as strong as you!" Ron said righteously, hands planted on his hips.
"…"
Hermione stared at him, completely speechless.
With the pressure suddenly eased, Seamus's luck finally came into play. A spell that had gone wide slammed into the ground and exploded violently.
Purely in terms of power, it didn't leave much of a mark on the floor, which Tver had deliberately reinforced beforehand.
But the sudden blast still startled Harry and the other two.
Perfect chance!
Without any need for coordination, the three on Seamus's side chose to attack at the same time.
Three flashes of red light shot straight toward Harry.
Before he could even react, Hermione and Ron sprang aside with practiced agility, watching as Harry was struck head-on by three Disarming Charms…
And at that exact moment, Hermione and Ron's spells also took effect on the opposing side.
Seamus suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet ripple and surge. The momentary triumph on their faces vanished as all three of them stumbled.
In that split second, Hermione's Stunning Spell hit Seamus squarely. He went down hard and, in the process, knocked over the two teammates behind him as well.
Lying on his back, the last thing Seamus saw before losing consciousness was the blinding sunlight above, and Harry's wand flying toward him.
He never got the chance to catch it.
Moments later, Michael and Padma, already down, were finished off by follow-up Stunning Spells. The three of them ended up piled together, fast asleep.
"Very nice coordination," Tver said, suddenly appearing beside Hermione and Ron with a thoughtful smile.
"The Transfiguration itself wasn't particularly strong, but it cleverly exploited the weakness of the feet to achieve the best result."
"Well… it's actually the spot on my soles where George and Fred used to tickle me when we were kids," Ron admitted sheepishly, scratching his head.
"And you, Hermione," Tver continued, "you took advantage of their tight formation perfectly. Instead of choosing the fastest Disarming Charm, you went with a Stunning Spell that had more impact, bringing all three down at once."
Hermione immediately lifted her chin, though the dark circles under her eyes were now almost on par with Tver's, making the gesture look more amusing than proud.
Harry, still lying on the ground, stared at them helplessly.
Maybe help me up first?!
As the first team to be eliminated, Seamus and the others received Tver's personal attention as he lifted the spells on them.
That didn't exactly make them feel much better.
"It's okay," Padma said gently, trying to comfort her teammates. "I think even a professor must have gone through failures when they weren't strong enough yet."
Tver, who hadn't gone far, immediately turned back.
"Sorry to disappoint you," he said calmly. "I've never failed in the first round. In fact, I've never lost a battle against students of the same year."
"…"
The remaining matches wrapped up one after another.
Just as Tver had anticipated, the team format sometimes balanced out differences in overall strength. At the same time, it could also dilute the impact of standout individuals, causing some genuinely excellent students to be eliminated.
Even so, choosing a team was itself part of the test. What Tver was emphasizing now was teamwork, not individual bravado.
"Alright. The team receiving a bye in the next round will be Harry's team."
"Winning teams, don't get carried away. You still have a long road ahead of you."
"Losing teams, don't be discouraged. Identifying your own problems is just as important."
"For example, Seamus. Next time, I want to see you fight using your real strength, not relying on luck. Unless, of course, you can fully control your… unique talent."
"And one last reminder," Tver added with a smile. "I'll allow you to cry for a bit after losing, but I absolutely won't allow anyone to skip my next class."
The students immediately huddled together, bursting into laughter. The gloom of defeat faded away in an instant.
...
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