Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 24 Defense Against the Dark Arts Practice Lesson

A gentle breeze was blowing.

The grass swayed and bowed in the wind, shaking down dewdrops that reflected the moonlight. Countless glistening droplets shattered in Harry's eyes. He looked up and saw the meadow in front of him, the dark forest, and the distant mountains that were blurred into a dark blue mass under the night sky.

And the full moon hanging high in the dark sky.

Harry smelled the same scent as the Forbidden Forest in the wind blowing in his face—or rather, what he saw was the same as what he had felt when he once ventured into the Forbidden Forest at night!

The sound of wind, the chirping of insects, the singing of birds.

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And in the lush woodland, among the swaying bushes and grasses, there were rustling sounds, the details of which were hard to discern, but which sent chills down one's spine.

"Where is this?"

Ron’s surprised voice came from behind him.

Harry, who was in a daze, turned around and saw a huge black "circle" standing and floating about a foot above the grass.

Other students were stumbling and falling out of there.

He probably just fell out of a "circle" too —

Thinking about it, Harry couldn't help but frown. He hadn't forgotten that someone had clearly pushed him before he came in!

First, we can rule out Slytherin. Although those guys are cunning, treacherous, and shameless, they have a terrible relationship with Gryffindor. Even if the two classes have the same class, they won't stand in the same group.

Only Gryffindor could stand behind him.

What a bunch of disloyal bastards!

And then there's that treacherous Ronald Weasley!

Harry suspected that it was this friend who pushed him, but he had no proof.

The young wizards gradually entered. The sudden spatial shift left everyone somewhat disheveled, but more than the dishevelment, the spatial shift itself and the unfamiliar environment they were in were what made them subconsciously fearful.

When Vaughn and Professor Isabella Rozier, who were at the back of the line, entered, they saw that Gryffindor and Slytherin, who were originally clearly separated, were now huddled together in the cool night breeze, although they were still in two separate groups.

Someone nervously tugged at their friend's robe.

Some people instinctively stick together.

Some people were trembling with fear, alert to any sound around them.

The clamor of discussion was incessant.

"quiet!"

Vaughn waved his wand, and a huge ball of light floated up from the tip of his wand, rising into the air. The intense light finally calmed the panic of the young wizards, who, like wriggling balls of fur, chased after the light source, lined up, and looked at Vaughn and Isabella.

"Dear students, welcome to the Trial Grounds."

Isabella glanced at the young wizards and said calmly, "Those who have had the experience of being projected with a squire upon entering should have already guessed it. That's right, we've now left Hogwarts—"

The young wizards immediately looked panicked.

Humans are generally somewhat like Lord Ye who loved dragons but was terrified of them. They were so excited about the practical classes before, but now they've been truly "lured" out of Hogwarts and are facing the real "wilderness".

That's how scared they were.

Ultimately, these are just 12 or 3-year-old children.

And what's worse is—

"Don't try to figure out where you are or try to use alchemical items to send signals to your family." Isabella glanced at a few Slytherins in the crowd who were secretly rummaging through their bags.

A sweet smile appeared on her lips: "This is not anywhere in the world. It is a small space that is independent of the world and was created by Dumbledore himself using alchemical artifacts. It is called The Painted World. Last semester, Harry Potter defeated Quirinus Quirrell here."

Yes, defeat Quirinas Quiro.

Last semester, Harry's adventures in the picturesque world were intended, according to Vaughn's plan, to convey the message that Voldemort was still alive through edited and screened films.

However, due to the unsatisfactory progress of the twin circuit magic transformation, the inability to expand the machine's scale, the unsatisfactory long-term screening effect, and the vaguely unpredictable changes in the current world situation, the plan had to be temporarily postponed.

Even Dumbledore felt that the English wizarding community was not yet mentally prepared to accept the possibility of the Dark Lord's resurrection.

Isabella knew a little about the matter. She glanced at Vaughn, who remained calm beside her, and then at Harry, who had suddenly become the focus of everyone's attention in the crowd because of her words.

Instead of continuing on this topic, he clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention back: "—Of course, don't expect Harry Potter to know much about this place. Ever since I applied for and was accepted as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the practical classes were reformed, this place has been completely transformed by me, Vaughn, Dumbledore, and other professors in the school."

"I've heard the rumors circulating in the castle these past few days. I'm delighted by everyone's enthusiasm for the practical courses, which are still in their trial phase. I'll do my best to live up to everyone's expectations!"

"As you can see, dear students, although this is not reality, those who are attentive should have noticed that the forest in front of you, and the mountains in the distance, have a very strong sense of the Forbidden Forest—I must say, the Forbidden Forest has indeed given me, Vaughn, and Dumbledore endless inspiration for creating this little space."

"Just as rumored, this practical course is about wilderness survival —"

Before he could finish speaking, someone in the crowd raised their hand.

It's Hermione.

Isabella gave the brown-haired girl in the Gryffindor group a knowing look, then glanced at Vaughn.

Vaughn ignored her.

Isabella, somewhat bored, casually called on Hermione: "Miss Granger, please speak."

The girl, holding her book and looking very serious, asked, "Professor, what aspects did this wilderness survival practice class mainly focus on? Survival? Adventure? How dangerous was it?"

Hmm, a perceptive girl—

Isabella made a mental judgment; she sensed that Hermione Granger was somewhat hostile towards her, and she knew where that hostility came from.

This amused her.

If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, she would have teased the other person more: "Very good question, Miss Granger. I'm glad to see your initiative. Gryffindor +1 point — back to the lesson, young wizards, I believe you've all read my travelogues and autobiography before class —"

Many young wizards hurriedly pulled out their books, which were the essential reading lists that Isabella had prepared for the semester after she was hired as a professor.

These are all her experiences and observations from her graduation trip over the past year.

Because the addition was done in a rush, close to the start of the school year, and because the titles of the books seemed suspiciously like they were for selling books, many people didn't even read them.

Isabella ignored this.

She continued with a sweet smile, "—As I mentioned in the book, for a wizard in the English magical world, the first time they come into contact with dark magic is probably the day they leave civilized society and walk into the wilderness."

"The black magic here" represents both the type of power you will encounter and the chaos and primal forces you will face after the loss of order. The wilderness will not speak to you, will not reason with you, discuss logic, or speak of morality; here there is only magic and power!

"So, Miss Granger, wilderness survival isn't all that complicated. As a practical course, its purpose isn't to teach you how to make a fire in the wild or what you can eat, but rather to present you with a chaotic and primitive reality. And what you have to do is survive in that chaotic and primitive environment!"

To be honest, Harry was a little dazed when he saw Professor Rozier say those words with a sweet smile.

I thought I might have misheard something.

But no!

Professor Rozier made it very clear: "—See that forest over there? Today's practical lesson is about 'surviving' in that forest within the two-hour lesson period. Successful teams will not only earn bonus points but also receive a reward."

"Conversely, the losing team will be punished—I'll keep the details a secret, but I must say, you definitely won't want them!"

The young wizards' faces grew increasingly terrified.

Hermione raised her hand high again, as if she still had questions to ask.

But this time Isabella ignored her: "Two hours, and we've already wasted one minute. It's getting late. Now listen to my instructions, open your palms—"

Isabella gave the instructions while nodding to Vaughn.

Vaughn raised his wand, and a gust of wind swept through, sending countless leaves flying. Vaughn then transformed them into parchment sheets, which fell into the hands of everyone.

Their exquisite metamorphosis not only transformed leaves into parchment, but also allowed them to write messages on them.

This is a brief introduction to the course and its rules.

It even includes a rudimentary map.

"—As I said, today's lesson is about survival. Of course, given that this is the first trial of curriculum reform, I will lower the difficulty a bit. I'm not actually going to let you die; your parents would kill me if they did, hahaha!"

Isabella laughed heartily, thinking she had told a very funny joke.

But the young wizards just watched her tremble.

Tsk, these young wizards these days have absolutely no sense of humor!

Isabella curled her lip in boredom and continued explaining the rules: "For your safety, for example, if you are poisoned or hunted by some magical beast, at least you will have companions to save you or help you call for help. Therefore, everyone must form teams of 2-4 people during the course. Now, you have 10 minutes to start forming teams."

"Remember, you only have 10 minutes. When the time is up, danger will strike!"

what?

So fast?

Some people wanted to ask more questions, such as Hermione, but Professor Isabella Rozier had already opened a flying carpet and pulled Vaughn onto it.

The flying carpet rose into the air and floated in mid-air.

Seeing the young wizards below suddenly thrown into chaos, Isabella gave a mischievous smile and asked Vaughn beside her:

Want to make a bet?

Vaughn fiddled with the scroll in his hand, not even turning his head: "Not interested."

"—You didn't even ask? Don't you want to guess who was eliminated in the first batch?"

"No, our model isn't very representative. It's like throwing a bunch of inexperienced people into a battlefield; how many survive depends entirely on luck!"

"Then why didn't you object when I brought it up? And why did you insist on scheduling the first practical lesson today?"

Vaughn did not speak.

He certainly has his reasons.

He activated the scroll, and according to his previous agreement with Dumbledore, the magical artifact depicting the world in the painting would belong to him after Harry's trials last semester.

This scroll is the control hub of the entire world.

Through it, Vaughn can see all the symbols that make up this "small world." Even though he hasn't started formally learning alchemy yet, he can still gain the power to control the entire "world" through those symbols.

From a macro perspective, the mountains, forests, and vegetation.

From microscopic water molecules, gas molecules, and organic complexes —

Everything is composed of symbols and is naturally under the control of symbols. Of course, to manipulate matter in its microscopic state, one needs extremely high information processing capabilities.

But Vaughn himself wasn't trying to create anything; he was well aware of his current abilities.

He simply wanted to see how "fate" would behave in this "world" independent of reality—no matter how ethereal and difficult to observe fate may be, it can only influence reality if it becomes reality.

In reality, however coincidental or accidental things may seem, there are always clues to follow in their development.

However, it hasn't appeared yet.

Is it because the conditions are not met?

Even if Harry is out of the real world, in its "understanding," is it still not considered to have escaped control?

A glint of inspiration flashed in Vaughn's eyes.

Isabella, bored out of her mind, began observing the young wizards below for amusement: "Your little girlfriend is pretty good. While everyone else is still panicking, she's already calmed down—well, unsurprisingly, she's teamed up with Harry and Ron!"

Her tone was somewhat sarcastic.

Vaughn, who was using his alchemical talent to observe the changes in the symbols, ignored her. His relationship with Hermione was not something he kept secret from his close friends, so being teased wouldn't hurt him.

Isabella, having failed to make a joke, began to observe others with boredom.

"That guy from the Longbottom family, the one you mentioned before who's so talented in herbalism? I didn't realize he had so little of his own opinion. I'm a little surprised he was able to find a team."

"—What's up with Seamus Finnegan? He can summon Explosion with just a flash of light? Is Gryffindor doomed?"

"Alright, I take back what I said earlier. What kind of Slytherins are they this year—aside from the Malfoy kids, the others are a disgrace to pure-bloods. I feel like Slytherin is truly doomed!"

This was the first lesson, but after a series of sharp critiques, Isabella seemed a bit strained.

The quality of students at Hogwarts was declining much faster than she had imagined—she thought her year was already terrible!

Looking down at the little wizards below, still in a state of chaos, completely lost, only knowing to form teams according to the rules they had read out, and then standing there in a daze, scared and cowering.

She sighed with a headache: "Is this the future of England? — Well, it's time, let's begin, Vaughn!"

Vaughn did not speak.

But this "world" answered his call.

Around the meadow where the young wizards were resting, in the deep woods, amidst the swaying bushes, pairs of emerald green eyes, like will-o'-the-wisps, quietly emerged in the night.

Ron had never felt so bad.

Although he has said this many times.

But in Ron's original plan, this was indeed a very promising afternoon. Merlin could testify that the new professor, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts class, had experienced the previous semester and, like all young wizards, he longed for a formal Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Especially around noon, after he and Harry, wearing invisibility cloaks, "ran into" Vaughn, Professor Rozier, and Professor Sprout.

Unlike the timid Neville, the cautious Hermione, the two-faced Seamus and Dean, and the absent-minded Harry.

Ron didn't care about the so-called "danger".

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Ron knew that Vaughn was a very reliable person, and even when he bullied him, Vaughn would never use excessive methods.

Here Ron specifically criticizes George and Fred.

Those two bastards gave him a spider doll when he was young, which caused him to develop a psychological trauma related to spiders ever since!

In contrast, Vaughn appears much more anthropomorphic.

Therefore, not long ago, when Professor Rozier announced the start of the team formation, Ron was already fantasizing about his "domination of the battlefield".

Danger?

What danger!

Would Vaughn possibly release some deadly magical creature here? Isn't he afraid the young wizards will get hurt?

So-called practice is just playing house. Hmph, Ronald has long seen through Vaughn Weasley's little tricks!

However, there are too many fools in this world.

Ron couldn't understand why the guys around him were making such a fuss over something as simple as forming groups and teams.

Let's see!

On the Slytherin side, the foolish Daphne Greengrass is tearing into Pansy Parkinson's, both wanting to be on Draco Malfoy's team, or rather, neither wanting to be on the team with the idiots Goyle or Crabbe.

The others watched the spectacle from the sidelines. They didn't start forming teams. Not all the proud little snakes were willing to flatter Malfoy. With Vaughn absent and no one to lead them, the little snakes seemed to have their mouths under a spell, and not one of them took the initiative to speak.

Ron witnessed them walk to the side like unapproachable porcupines after Professor Rozier announced the team formation.

Oh, not entirely. At least Milison Burstir has formed a group with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. They are a small Slytherin clique besides Vaughn and Malfoy, aiming to flatter both Vaughn and Malfoy.

Of course, they are often opportunists.

Slytherin was putting on a farce, and Gryffindor was in a similar situation. Ron was no exception, of course. Apart from Vaughn floating in the sky, no one could separate him from Harry and Hermione's inseparable trio.

Even Hermione herself couldn't do it!

Well, even in her second year, Hermione's interpersonal relationships at Gryffindor remained just so-so.

The trio automatically formed a team, and Neville, Simo, and Dean, who shared a dorm room, also automatically became a team.

The rest is more complicated.

Lavender Brown and Parvati Petit were originally good friends, but last semester, as Vaughn spent his days "dressing up" (Ron's perspective) and hanging out with the girls, the two girls started to act strangely.

One day after a potions class, they suddenly had a fight and started to dislike each other. They maintained a facade of peace, but in private they were already at odds.

This "rumor" comes from Hermione, who shared a dorm room with the two!

Ron had previously expressed skepticism about this claim, but he must clarify that this skepticism was absolutely not due to jealousy between the two girls over Vaughn; Ronald Weasley was not that vulgar!

But now, looking at Lavender and Parvati tense up just a dozen feet away, Ron felt that Hermione's assessment of them being "incompatible" was very apt.

"If it weren't for Professor Rozier overhead, I have no doubt they would have pulled out their wands and turned the other person into a slug!"

Ron complained to Harry.

Harry wholeheartedly agreed; they were practically sticking their fingers into each other's faces in their scramble for teammates.

The teammate being fought over by the two was named Eloise Middlegen, an unremarkable classmate. Harry's only memory of her was that she suddenly developed a face full of acne when school started this year.

I heard it's because of the onset of puberty.

The thought of himself with a face full of pimples like Eloise sent a chill down Harry's spine, and he quickly banished the horrifying image from his mind.

Adolescence is terrifying, in every sense of the word!

Turning his gaze away from the spectacle, Harry looked up at the magic carpet floating in mid-air and asked a question that seemed completely unrelated to his current situation but which he had been wanting to ask all along: "Wasn't the magic carpet supposed to be banned a long time ago? Why are Vaughn and Professor Rozier still using it?"

Hermione couldn't answer that question.

Ron, a native wizard, seemed unfazed: "Not all wizards like brooms. Harry, those things are windy and uncomfortable to ride. Many wizards, except when playing Quidditch, rarely follow the Ministry of Magic's laws prohibiting the use of brooms as transportation. Like Floo Network, the Ministry of Magic requires its employees to use it at work, but my dad Apparates to his workstation every day!"

Beside her, Hermione stared wide-eyed, probably never expecting that the chubby, honest and kind Mr. Arthur Weasley she remembered would be so unconventional.

Harry, however, had a different idea.

Yes, Vaughn was never a law-abiding person, and based on Harry's interactions, he could even be considered dangerous at times.

Would such an "unconventional" guy be so calm in the practical course he designed?

Harry had a bad feeling when he recalled Vaughn's smiling, but seemingly insincere, assurance before he came in.

Ron was still commenting with great interest on Daphne and Pansy's fight, and Lavender and Parvati's argument.

In the distance, Neville stammered as he tried to calm everyone down, urging them to prioritize harmony.

Malfoy, rarely seen laughing heartily, joined Goyle and Crabbe in pointing and whispering among the girls.

All of this meant there was virtually no tense atmosphere!

Until Harry heard Hermione suddenly murmur, "It's time—"

This sentence is like a signal.

Harry suddenly looked up and around.