Progress with imp magic had been very encouraging, both for Tver and for the club students.
By now, most of the students could skillfully direct their imps to perform simple spells. Over the following month, imps could be seen darting around the castle and even across the entire Hogwarts grounds.
From time to time, they would raise their tiny hands and cast a spell or two to scare younger students, with the Weasley twins' imps being the most unruly of all.
They even caught Peeves' attention, and for once he joined in the fun with the students. Of course, the ones being toyed with were the students themselves…
In the end, they were naturally suppressed by Professor McGonagall and rewarded with a generous end-of-year gift. Double the usual amount of revision assignments.
As for Tver, he picked up something he had once set aside.
A dummy.
It would not be entirely accurate to say he had abandoned it.
Tver had long known that imps possessed a limited degree of awareness, but it was more like a machine. They could only respond mechanically after receiving instructions.
It was precisely because of this ability that he had created a dummy to deceive Quirrell and Voldemort.
However, that had already been the upper limit of what the dummy could do, and it required his full concentration to control it personally.
So after realizing its limited potential, he had naturally put it aside without hesitation.
But now things were different.
After four years of intense study, along with Tver's persistent research into the soul, and combined with the knowledge left to him by the four founders, especially Salazar and Godric, regarding the soul and life,
he was now able to enhance the imps' capacity for awareness.
This ability was different from a Horcrux. It did not increase the output of the soul, but instead stimulated the autonomous awareness of that tiny fragment.
There was no need to worry. This fragment of soul remained firmly under Tver's control and could be recalled to his main body at any time.
It would not be like Marvolio, constantly scheming to seize control.
With this new capability, Tver immediately picked up the dummy that had been gathering dust in the corner. Draco and Neville had even stripped it of its role in grading exams, and it was only occasionally brought out as a reward for students.
Because of that, aside from basic limbs, Tver had not even given it hair or facial features.
After brushing the dust off the dummy, it looked rather strange.
After a moment's thought, Tver gave up on the idea of adding facial features.
It was just a dummy. If it had a face, this would turn into a mystery story.
Still, before casting the spell, Tver waved his wand and conjured a robe for it, at least making it look a bit more presentable.
Only then did he raise his wand with a serious expression and point it at the dummy's head.
"Biu…"
A faint sound came from the tip of the wand, and a thin strand of white light twisted its way into the dummy's head.
The room fell silent for a moment…
The dummy suddenly twisted its neck, like something that had been asleep for a thousand years finally awakening, and began moving its limbs.
In reality, though, it was still under Tver's control.
The difference was that instead of controlling the dummy directly, he was now controlling the imp, which in turn acted through the dummy it inhabited.
This inevitably introduced a slight delay in the dummy's movements.
It was within expectations. Without showing either satisfaction or disappointment, Tver raised his wand again.
The dummy's movements immediately became faster and more pronounced.
No longer content to stand still, it began wandering around as if exploring its surroundings.
However, lacking any sensory organs, it appeared rather clumsy. It bumped into desks and chairs and eventually fell to the floor with a loud thud.
But since it felt no pain, it did not react at all. After awkwardly getting back up and brushing the dust off itself, it continued its exploration.
Tver nodded in satisfaction.
Even after falling, it still cared about its image. Truly worthy of being created from his own soul.
Still, Tver did not let the dummy keep learning on its own. Once it had grown accustomed to its body, he raised his wand again and infused the imp inside it with some basic combat techniques and spells.
As for why...
"Professor, we're here."
Harry rushed into the classroom, followed by Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur.
All of them wore eager smiles.
For the first two tasks, they had practically begged Tver just to get some of the knowledge he had summarized.
And now, for once, Tver had actually taken the initiative to help them prepare for the Third Task.
Although the Third Task was the final round of the competition, where they would face each other directly and compete for the championship trophy,
after a year of shared adventures, they had already formed a friendship. It was not especially deep, but it was genuine.
More importantly, their real opponent was Tver. If they could not get past him, they might not even have the chance to compete among themselves.
As for whether the professor would hold back because of that?
Come on. That was Professor Fawley.
Hearing Harry's excited voice, Tver could not help but smile as well.
"You're here. Come take a look at the dummy I just finished."
"A dummy?"
Cedric immediately slowed down, his guard going up, though he could not stop the others from stepping forward out of curiosity.
"Is this a training dummy? It looks a bit rough."
Fleur reached out and poked its arm with her finger.
Tver had occasionally handed out dummies as rewards in class, but only a few students had ever gotten one. Aside from Cedric, this was their first time seeing it.
"That's right. Don't judge it by how it looks. This is an upgraded version I specially prepared for you," Tver said, patting the dummy's shoulder like a salesman showing off his product.
"For us?"
Cedric, who had once been thoroughly beaten by a dummy, immediately recalled what had happened four years ago and caught on at once.
"Of course. What you need to prepare for is the competition, not exams, so I made some adjustments specifically for that," Tver said lightly.
Those familiar with him immediately sensed something was off, but knowing they would have to face Tver sooner or later, they hesitated.
"It's fine. Let's treat this as a warm-up," Viktor stepped forward boldly. "If we're afraid of a dummy, then what's the point of competing at all?"
At that, even Cedric nodded along with the others.
"Exactly. We can also use it to practice our coordination in advance."
Noticing the hostility in their stance, Tver simply stepped aside, leaving the space to them and the dummy.
"Since you're all so fired up, I won't say anything more. Get ready."
As soon as he finished speaking, the dummy moved. Its right hand shifted, forming a wand that looked real but had no actual function.
This made it easier for them to judge the direction of its spells based on its casting movements.
Seeing this, Cedric and the others quickly spread out and gripped their wands tightly.
Their spirits were high, but this was still something prepared by the professor. They would not, and did not dare to, take it lightly.