Harry had no idea how he managed to stay in the office for a full hour and fifty-eight minutes, nor did he know that Sirius had spent quite a while furiously arguing with Tver about it afterward.
All he knew was that he was going to face Voldemort. Voldemort at the height of his power!
Because of Tver's presence, Harry had not gone through as many setbacks and hardships as he had in the original story.
You could call his actions reckless, but there was no denying that those experiences had gradually built up his courage and confidence to stand against Voldemort.
That was why, in the original story, even after Dumbledore's death, Harry had still set out firmly on the journey to find the Horcruxes.
But it also had to be admitted that Tver's protection had kept that courage from appearing in Harry as early as it should have.
After all, this was Voldemort. A true Dark Lord. Ninety-nine point nine percent of adult wizards in the magical world would not dare say they could face Voldemort directly, let alone a student!
Such immense terror had fallen on an underage boy, but Tver and Dumbledore had already done everything they could. They could hardly turn back time and let Harry grow enough before facing Voldemort, could they?
To put it coldly, even if Harry unfortunately died, it would not actually affect the final outcome of the war.
So this was Harry's own burden. Though it was cruel, whether he could withstand the pressure depended entirely on himself.
Tver had told him this truth in advance. It was harsh, but it was also a fate Harry had to accept.
Overwhelmed by loneliness and fear, Harry left the office in a daze. He followed behind Sirius and Professor Fawley, who were still arguing, and walked blankly into the long-unseen Arena.
To accommodate Firenze, Dumbledore had arranged the place into the shape of a forest and grassland.
But the dazed Harry certainly did not notice that after last night's changes, the forest had become much deeper, as if anyone who walked in would lose themselves at once.
"What's wrong, Potter? Scared enough to wet yourself?" Draco swaggered over, looking so smug and arrogant that anyone would think he had already won.
"Don't worry. If you start crying because you get eliminated too early, maybe I'll be merciful and give you the trophy!"
"The trophy?"
At Draco's words, the fighting spirit buried inside Harry finally stirred awake, and he at last pulled himself together.
Seeing this, Hermione quickly explained in a whisper, even though she had already summarized it once while Harry had been distracted.
"The Professor plans to turn this class into a practical combat lesson. In a moment, this place will become a real battlefield, and the goal is the trophy placed at the center."
"But the difference is, our opponents won't be the other students. They'll be Sirius and Professor Fawley!"
"So that means…"
The shocking statement left Harry with no time to think about Voldemort.
"That means this won't be a play-fight between students. We'll be using every spell except the Unforgivable Curses."
Tver spoke loudly, the malicious smile on his lips and the Elder Wand he was toying with making him look far more sinister than usual.
"Everyone, the ones you're about to face are not kind and friendly professors, but enemies who will use any means necessary."
"So please make sure you give it everything you have… and protect yourselves, all right?"
A chill ran through the students.
For these students, fighting against the Professor was something they had experienced back in first year.
Although they had been powerless against him then, their strength had improved considerably by now.
Besides, in the past, even when the Professor said he would show no mercy, he had still held back in practice. At most, he would just leave them looking a little pathetic.
But now, unless they remembered wrong, this was the first time the Professor had ever told them to protect themselves.
And he had said it in an extremely serious tone!
"Hey, hey, you're not really planning to hit the students hard, are you?"
Even Sirius, who had been full of excitement, was startled.
He knew Tver would certainly not do anything that endangered the students' lives, but he also did not want the place to be temporarily turned into the Hospital Wing after class.
If the floor ended up covered with injured students, forget the parents. Even the other professors would blame them.
"I was just saying that."
Tver waved the Elder Wand in his hand. But the heart Sirius had just lowered was immediately lifted again by his next words.
"It's just that the wand in my hand seems especially powerful. I can't guarantee the students won't have any accidents."
Tver truly was not joking.
After studying it for an entire night, he had already worked out some of the Elder Wand's traits.
The first was its extremely low loyalty. Even though he had only used a half-hearted Disarming Charm, the Elder Wand had already submitted to him.
The second, naturally, was the Elder Wand's most widely known trait: its tremendous power.
To a wizard, a wand was a tool. But tools had subtle differences, and those differences gave each wand its own characteristics.
As for the Elder Wand, it seemed as though every strand of wood and core within it was doing everything possible to amplify the power of the magic released through it.
If an ordinary Blinding Light Charm was meant to dazzle the students' eyes, then a Blinding Light Charm cast by Tver using the Elder Wand might actually blind them.
The students secretly watching them exchanged looks.
They had thought the Professor was trying to improve their ability to respond on the battlefield. They had not expected him to use them to test a new wand!
And an especially powerful wand at that!
At first, when they learned that this joint class taught by two professors had been arranged for the sixth-year advanced class, they had proudly bragged to students from other years.
But now, before the class had even officially begun, they were already starting to regret it.
"All right, stop standing there."
Tver lightly waved his wand.
Sure enough, he had not even made any especially deliberate movement when the shadows in the forest instantly deepened, as if night had descended in a single second.
It really did feel like a kind of evil power that moved as easily as his own arm.
Tver tilted his head and studied the wand, completely failing to notice the students' increasingly panicked expressions.
"Ahem."
Sirius felt that if he did not say something quickly, these students might lose all will to fight just from the evil aura Tver was unconsciously giving off.
"You don't actually need to worry too much about safety," he said dryly, though he did not feel his words were very convincing.
"Anyway, remember this. Your opponents this time are the two of us, but if you want to win, you need to get the trophy deep in the forest as quickly as possible!"
"Well then, let the game begin!"