The Return to Hogwarts

Before Draco could even show a hint of joy, Professor Blaine's next words made him dejected again.

“I remember telling you to have unwavering faith in and support for the warriors of all schools. Even if you can’t do that, you can’t hold them back—” Professor Blaine said calmly. “I don’t want to see anyone wearing this in the castle again. Otherwise, I’ll make you go through the same thing one by one in the first challenge.”

"What exactly are the warriors up to, Professor?"

The Weasley twins were good at seizing opportunities, and George immediately raised his hand and asked.

"Oh?" Amosta turned around, his face expressionless but his eyes smiling. "If I tell you, will you keep it a secret?"

George paused for a moment, then shouted excitedly, "I swear I'll keep it a secret, Professor!"

Not to mention George, every young wizard in the classroom was excited. They stared eagerly at Professor Blaine, hoping to learn more top secrets from him in advance.

“I’ve made the same oath, Mr. Weasley—”

Amosta's cheerful laughter triggered a series of disappointed sighs.

"Alright, that's the end of the jokes—"

Amosta clapped his hands, gathering the students around him. Looking at their faces, flushed red in the firelight, he calmly said…

"Over the past two months, you have practiced some spells that can be used for self-defense in battles against wizards, and from my observation, almost everyone has met the requirements—"

Clang, clang--

A suit of armor on the classroom wall jingled and clanged, swaying impatiently as it peered at the students.

"Oh--"

Amosta slapped his forehead.

"Give the sword back, Mr. Longbottom, it's not yours—"

Amidst a chorus of snickers, Neville, his face burning red, jogged over and sheathed his sword again. Perhaps due to excessive nervousness, he failed several times and accidentally tore his robe. The snickers from the crowd grew even louder. But after he succeeded and returned to his Gryffindor classmates, Hermione quietly repaired his robe.

"Next, we need to adjust the curriculum again. From now on, the last class on Friday mornings will be used for you to practice dodging dung balls and consolidate and learn magic, while Wednesday's class will be used to learn practical combat."

"Real combat?!"

"Hannah of Hufflepuff cried out. But when she noticed Professor Blaine looking at her, Hannah panicked and stammered,

"Real-world application. But who should I practice with?"

Professor Blaine's words undoubtedly brought the atmosphere in the class to a fever pitch!

To be honest, not many people felt afraid; most people showed enthusiasm.

The young wizards who participated in physical education class always had a sense of superiority. They all wanted to prove that they were much better than the others. However, Professor Blaine strictly forbade them to use their wands when fighting with others. Therefore, they could only enjoy the envious looks of others when demonstrating their newly mastered magic. They always looked forward to the day when they could fight with others and know just how good they really were!

Before answering this question—

Amosta said in a serious tone,

"I need you to find your own teams, not teams divided by college, but your own small teams of three. You can find teammates from other colleges, but please remember that this team will not be temporary, but will exist throughout the following courses, and even when you actually fight with others in the future. Therefore, I urge you to choose your teammates very carefully."

Chapter 582 Team Formation and Real Duels

2023-11-08

After pausing for a few moments, Amostella looked at the pitiful little Ravenclaw group, thought for a moment, and then continued.

"A team doesn't necessarily need to have three members; four is fine too."

No one moved. The young wizards hesitated, glancing around, unsure of what to do. They had clearly noticed the caution in Professor Blaine's words and dared not make a hasty decision. Pettier looked at the Ravenclaw team with disappointment. Her sister, Padma Pettier, had not persisted, which had cost her the chance to form a 'team' with her sister.

Harry immediately stood with Hermione; they would undoubtedly form a team. However, their team was currently missing one person. If Ron were there, they would be perfect. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, both feeling a little disappointed.

The twins, delighted, teamed up with their friend Lee Jordan. They were the fastest team to form, and after completing this task, they eagerly looked at Professor Blaine, awaiting further instructions.

Draco glanced hesitantly behind him and immediately spotted Pansy looking at him expectantly. However, he didn't respond to her gaze. At that moment, he missed Crabbe and Goyle a little. However, those two were among the first to skip gym class, and bringing them along might just be a hindrance.

Blaise and Nott both avoided Draco's gaze, while Daphne and Milison had clearly decided to be together. Draco muttered helplessly.

"All right--"

Draco looked at Pansy with displeasure and said slowly.

“Then we’re on the same team, Pansy, but if you act like you did in Defense Against the Dark Arts class last year…”

“Oh, I promise I won’t!” Pansy said, touched. “Who should we look for the third person? Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle aren’t here—”

"I'm thinking about it!"

Draco said impatiently that he might choose someone from another house as his teammate, and the choice could only be made within a Slytherin team. His gaze swept over the students who were whispering and discussing, and finally landed on Astoria, his brows furrowing slightly.

Astoria was the youngest member of the Slytherin crew, and no one would choose someone who seemed weak when faced with the unknown.

However, after proposing to humiliate Granger with the badge, Astoria quickly produced it. It was of high quality and even received praise from Professor Blaine. Furthermore, the Greengrass and Malfoy families had been on good terms for generations, and his father had repeatedly instructed him to look after the Greengrass sisters.

"You'll be on our team, Astoria—"

Draco gave the order, ignoring Pansy's complaints and misunderstandings.

About ten minutes later, most of the teams had taken shape, and after some discussion, Harry and Hermione finally decided to include Ginny, who had been looking at them expectantly all day, in the team. However, once the situation became clear, they discovered that Neville was all alone.

This was unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable.

Since they started practicing spells, Neville's status has plummeted. He maintains the same style he displayed in Charms and Transfiguration classes, and even Professor Blaine's peculiar way of teaching magic couldn't help him out of his predicament.

Neville clearly realized he was just a burden to others; he stood there alone, head bowed sadly. When Hermione noticed, she didn't hesitate to tell him…

“Come to us, Neville, we’re just one person short!”

Neville, who thought he was destined to be alone, looked at Hermione in disbelief, his eyes misting over.

"But I'll cause you trouble."

"Don't talk nonsense, Neville!"

Harry grabbed Neville without a word, smiled at him, and

"That sword strike you just made was really cool. The only downside is that you should have aimed directly for Malfoy's head—"

Neville grinned.

Now that their team was formed, Harry turned around and gave Professor Blaine the same eager look. However, when he saw that Cedric Diggory had successfully persuaded Cho Chang to join his team, the excited smile on Harry's face froze, as if his insides had been ripped out.

How unseemly!

Harry glared at Cedric with hatred as he thought to himself.

"It's still the same old saying—"

Looking at these young, excited faces, Amosta smiled slightly, his voice gentle.

"I hope you can all fully trust your teammates, and believe that they can protect your back in a life-or-death battle—"

The young wizards gradually quieted down. They couldn't understand what Professor Blaine was trying to say, but they sensed the special meaning in his tone.

“Now—” Amosta clapped his hands again.

"Everyone back to your seats. Our practical training will continue in my mental world. Oh, if I send a bunch of missing limbs and broken little wizards to the school hospital, Mrs. Pomfrey will either commit suicide or kill me and then kill herself—"

It was a good joke, and everyone was amused. Even Hermione briefly forgot the worries that had been lingering in her mind about the competition.

Everyone was already familiar with this pure white spiritual world. After a brief period of dizziness, the young wizards quickly found their group and looked forward to what was about to happen.

"As before, I need a team to give a demonstration. Is there anyone willing to volunteer?"

Amostella walked slowly to the young wizards and said with a smile.

It was necessary to be cautious in Professor Blaine's class; not many people responded to his call, but the Weasley brothers and their good friends were quite eager to raise their hands.

"Then come on, your opponent is me--"

Well—when Professor Blaine pulled them into this spiritual world, the young wizards had some idea of ​​what was to come. No one expected that three or four young wizards could defeat Professor Blaine, but the rare opportunity to fight one of the most powerful wizards of the modern era still made Fred and George's eyes light up with excitement!

"Let's go avenge that arrow wound, brother!"

"Of course, we must make him realize our current strength!"

Fred and George were rubbing their hands together, referring to the time when Professor Blaine was publicly humiliated in the Great Hall when he first entered Hogwarts.

"First of all, I want to tell you --"

Amosta continued to smile.

"A duel means you may get injured or even die. In my mental world, death is obviously impossible. But to ensure the realism of the duel practice, I will give you feedback on the pain after you are injured to a certain extent. So you should try to be mentally prepared."

Chapter 583 The Pain of Shattering Illusions

2023-11-09

The young wizards spread out in a circle, surrounding Professor Blaine, the Weasley brothers, and Lee Jordan, eagerly hoping the duel would begin immediately. However, Professor Blaine continued to mutter somewhat incoherently.

"--I will keep my strength within a reasonable range and will not use any 'overpowered methods.' Of course, I will also remove some restrictions. For example, teleportation is not allowed within the Hogwarts school environment, but here, I will use Apparition to fight you. You need to be mentally prepared--"

Harry clicked his tongue. He had experienced Apparition with Professor Blaine last summer, and it was a truly unpleasant experience.

Hermione and Cedric stared wide-eyed at Professor Blaine in the circle. They were currently in a period where they desperately needed instruction; any knowledge could help them through this difficult time.

Some of the young wizards who were unfamiliar with Apparition finally understood what kind of technique it was after some inquiries, and then they became even more excited about the upcoming duel.

Looking at the three little ones who were still laughing and joking, Amosta pursed his lips and said patiently,